Thread by @TheWCS

Majority of emerging infectious diseases are zoonotic—they jump from wildlife to people. Key to addressing this: our interactions, exploitation, and destruction of nature.

NOW: Christian Walzer of @WcsHealth will be speaking at #NatureForLife Hub. Watch live on our Facebook.

At WCS, our policy recommends stopping all commercial trade in wildlife for human consumption (particularly of birds and mammals) and closing all such markets.

Read more: bit.ly/32YGaNm #NatureForLife

Also: we have to acknowledge that outbreaks are inevitable as the interfaces between wildlife and humans increase, primarily due to deforestation and agricultural expansion, as WCS's Christian Walzer wrote in @FrontiersIn yesterday. doi.org/10.3389/fvets.… #NatureForLife

WCS's Christian Walzer speaking now at #NatureForLife:
It is important to be absolutely clear, it is primarily not about bat soup, pangolins or specific viruses. It is about the interfaces between humans, wildlife and nature in general. #COVID19

Watch: bit.ly/33ZLQGl

Says Walzer: "#COVID19 reminded us of the basic fact: Human, animal, plant, and environmental health and well-being are all intrinsically connected." #OneHealth

More on WCS & #COVID19: wcs.org/coronavirus

WCS policy doesn't apply to Indigenous Peoples & local communities, for whom there may be little alt protein avail. We must value their eyes-on-the-ground & aid capacity for early reporting of sick animals & avoiding contact to help reduce risk outbreak.

pbs.org/wnet/nature/bl…

Ecological degradation increases the overall risk of zoonotic disease outbreaks. It causes increased human contact with pathogens and a disruption in pathogen ecology. Our report: bit.ly/2Evxk0f #NatureForLife