Today, Mother Nature is warning us dramatically to respect and keep our distance from wildlife. COVID - 19 is challenging humans to giant rethinks across a broad spectrum of areas. One area for review is ongoing habitat depletion.
Eric W. Sanderson in his article, “Ecology in the Time of Pandemic” creatively stimulates the reader’s reconsideration of the interplay between human activity and wildlife by presenting his readers with an interview between Mother Nature and himself. Mother Nature wisely points out to Eric that our common home, Earth, has been changed by the course of our actions with little regard for their impact on the plants, the animals or in fact upon ourselves. Habitat degradation through pollution, deforestation, invasive species, logging, mining, destructive fishing practices have resulted in the decrease or destruction of numerous and varied natural habitats. One negative impact of our human short-sightedness and interference with natural habitats is the resultant consequence of putting other species in much closer proximity to ourselves. Much has been said of the need and value of social distancing to lessen and contain the spread of the current virus. The article asserts that the same holds true with viruses in general concerning human interaction with wildlife.
The saga of this present virus, which has upset our lives, is credibly believed to have been first present, among a few cave-dwelling bats. It is presumed that a downward turn of events occurred when at least one of the bats hosting the virus was captured, caged and placed next to a pangolin or some other distressed animal in a Chinese live-animal marketplace full of people. Next, this virus which didn’t much bother other mammals found a new host, human beings. Members of the scientific community support the belief that COVID-19 originated as a result of cross-species transmission.
Wikipedia highlights that cross-species transmission (also called interspecies transmission, host jump or spillover) is the ability for a foreign virus, once introduced into an individual of a new host species, to infect that individual and spread throughout a new host population. Over 40 million COVID-19 cases globally are concrete evidence of interspecies transmission and the effectiveness of its ability to spread within its new host species’ community. Zoonotic diseases (zoonoses) are infectious diseases, such as Zika, Rabies, Ebola, H1N1, and Avian Flu that were first transmitted from animals to humans. The BC Centre for Disease Control states the fact that over 60 per cent of infectious diseases that we contract are zoonotics.
The Lancet, a most reliable scientific journal, in its article, “Nested Ecology and Emergence in Pandemics” highlights a way forward to deal with interspecies transmission. It states: “The COVID -19 pandemic might change policy on preparedness for future zoonotic infectious outbreaks by enforcing constraints on the wildlife trade, being more circumspect about the interactions between domestic animals and wildlife and regulating wildlife markets more carefully.”
Prevention of future zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks also underlines the need for thoughtful consideration. Actions must be taken for humans to keep a respectful distance from wildlife by taking concrete steps to preserve their natural, often more remote habitats. Our CSJ spirituality fosters right relationships with all creation, including wildlife.
