To: Irish government
CALLING ON THE IRISH GOVERNMENT TO INVEST MORE IN SCIENCE!!
Even as the COVID-19 pandemic rages on, experts are warning that the next pandemic could arrive at any moment, and again, it could come from animals. To prevent history from repeating itself. We need our government in Ireland to ACT NOW!
That means deploying teams of biologists, zoologists and veterinarians to begin monitoring animals and the people who interact with them -- an army of scientists tasked with stamping out the next deadly virus before an animal disease balloons into a global pandemic.
Without proper monitoring and surveillance of these creatures such as mink in Europe, they warned, we would be ill-prepared to stop a virus from spreading across the globe.
WE ARE ASKING OUR GOVERNMENT TO ACT NOW!!!!
INVEST money into our zoologists and scientists to study these species and prevent any futher pandemic.
INVEST in global scientific studies so the virus is prevented in other countries such as China and the US.
PRESSURE governments around the world to ACT and INVEST!!
Collectively this needs to be a world united together if we are to achieve this goal. We MUST work together to prevent another pandemic from wiping out civilisation before it's too late!!!!!
ACT NOW!!!!! NO MORE EMPTY PROMISES!!!!
Why is this important?
According to the World Health Organization, approximately 1 billion cases and millions of deaths each year can be traced back to diseases originating from animal populations.
In the past three decades, researchers have found more than 30 bacteria or viruses that are capable of infecting humans. Over three quarters of those are believed to have come from animal populations.
And while the current pandemic may feel like a very rare happening, scientists say the pace of these pandemics is accelerating dramatically thanks to humans' ever-encroaching proximity to wildlife.
"The time between these outbreaks is getting shorter and shorter," said Dr. Tracey McNamara, a professor of pathology at Western University of Health Sciences College of Veterinary Medicine.
And it's becoming increasingly clear that these viruses aren't just a threat to our health -- they're also a threat to the global economy.
"We are only able to sustain an outbreak maybe once every decade," said Dr. Peter Daszak, president of EcoHealth Alliance. "The rate we are going is not sustainable."
As our population continues to expand, the interactions between humans and wildlife grow closer and closer. Cutting down forests and altering habitats push animals out of their own homes and deeper into human communities.
Poorly developed hygiene and sanitation systems can make it more likely for germs to build up. With humans and animals living in such close proximity, bacteria and viruses can easily jump from one species to another.
Once people become infected, the increasing interconnectedness of our world makes the spread of the disease easier. People and domestic animals are able to traverse the globe in a matter of hours. Illegal trade of exotic animals can move across borders undetected, carrying with them deadly bacteria and viruses.