Coronavirus and the disease it causes, COVID-19, has devastated the world. As of July 2020, hundreds of thousands of people had died from the illness and its complications while economies and supply chains around the globe are halted and disrupted as we try to prevent even more death. But in all the confusion, experts and leaders are pointing to two facts that must be addressed: COVID-19 likely made its jump from animals to humans within the wildlife trafficking industry AND that industry is decimating endangered species worldwide. That's why we need bills like California's Senate Bill 1175 is so great: it tackles both problems by banning wildlife trade and trophy hunting imports!
Sign on if you want to support California's effort to protect endangered species from extinction and humans from the diseases they may carry!
California seems to have finally accepted what scientists have been saying for a while now: our increased interaction with wild animals comes with a very real risk for the transmission of zoonotic diseases -- diseases that come from animals -- like the coronavirus. The bill would totally ban the import of any wild animal that has a high risk of zoonotic disease transmission.
The bill also bans the import of animal "trophies," aka animal body parts including heads, feet, horns, or hides. If this bill passes, people who like to go to other countries and kill endangered species for fun so they can keep their bodies as horrifying "trophies" couldn't bring them back to California. If you take away their trophies, they will be much less interested in killing in the first place. Trophy-hunting is one of the main things threatening many endangered species today, such as elephants, tigers and rhinoceroses, and if it is eliminated, these types of animals have a much better chance at surviving.
This common sense piece of legislation would go such a long way in protecting the earth's endangered species, critical biodiversity, and the health of humans. Please sign on to support it today!
