DONATE
 

Take the Pledge: Stop the Animal Cruelty that Caused the COVID-19 Outbreak!

Take the Pledge: Stop the Animal Cruelty that Caused the COVID-19 Outbreak!

You’ve no doubt been affected in some way by the highly contagious novel coronavirus that has been sweeping the globe, bringing with it chaos and uncertainty.

Maybe you’ve already watched our video showing how the COVID-19 coronavirus is said to have started in Wuhan, China in a wet market where fish, other sea creatures, and even  exotic land animals were known to be sold. Scientists believe that this virus originated in bats, but potentially used pangolins as a vector to eventually pass over to humans.

Bats. Pangolins. In a “seafood” market. Crowded with humans and exotic creatures in small, unhygienic spaces. Is it any wonder that a new, deadly disease started here?

In Defense of Animals has long been vocal about the dangers of keeping animals, such as those used for food, including those who fall victim to the illegal wild animal trade. As long as societies continue to normalize such behavior, we will continue to see outbreaks like COVID-19.

  • The H5N1 virus, which has a 50% mortality rate in infected humans and killed hundreds of people in the mid-2000s, originated on a bird farm.
  • Swine flu, which had a recent outbreak in 2009 and is estimated to have killed over 200,000 people, originated on a pig farm.
  • “Mad cow disease” or BSE, was a major non-virus based illness in cows which caused alarm in the 1990s. Causing fatal neurological effects in humans who ate contaminated cow meat, BSE originated in cows who were fed material containing other animals. It’s called chronic wasting disease in deer and scrapie in sheep, and all can cause the same debilitating disease (called CJD) in humans.

The evidence is clear. As long as our international society continues to treat animals as objects rather than as complex, sentient beings, new infectious and deadly sicknesses will pose a threat to us all.

We can’t take any more risks. Today, we want you to join us in saying: never again.

By signing the pledge on this page, you are taking the following stand for animals, humans, and our future:

As a person who cares deeply about all life on this planet, I am taking a stand to protect our collective future. I stand:

  • against the illegal wildlife trade, which serves as a breeding ground for new diseases
  • against barbaric treatment of animals by the food industry, both in the U.S. and further afield
  • against large-scale, normalized animal cruelty on farms, which directly leads to deadly outbreaks faster than we can find cures

The effects of the coronavirus pandemic have been serious and widespread despite only killing a tiny fragment of the world’s human population. But the next zoonotic disease could be significantly more deadly. If we do not take a stand against the root cause, how can we ever be safe?

What You Can Do:

  • Sign our pledge. Fill out the form on this page to take a stand for all animals, humans and non-humans alike, and protect our future on this planet.
  • Go vegan. By eating vegan, you’re withholding your money from animal abusers who breed disease, environmental destruction and cause numerous other problems through intensive farming. Future generations will thank you. To learn more about going vegan, download our free guide: idausa.org/vegguide
  • Don’t stay silent. Write to your local newspaper urging people to consider the animal origin of killer diseases–and how we can easily stop them by switching to a plant-based diet.

 

You can support our work by donating

Take the Pledge!