Ricky Gervais has called for an end to the trade and consumption of wild animals at wet markets to avoid similar crises in the future
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Vegetarian actor Ricky Gervais, who some believe to be vegan, is a staunch advocate for animal rights, regularly using his platform to speak out about the injustices animals face.
Now, amidst the coronavirus pandemic, Gervais has called for an end to the trade and consumption of wild animals at wet markets, where the virus is believed to have originated, if we are to avoid similar crises in the future.
Coronavirus is believed to have originated in a wet market Wuhan, China, where live animals were kept and slaughtered for meat alongside dead ones, and exclusive footage released by the Sunday Mirror shows that wet markets in Asia are continuing to operate despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Gervais spoke out against wet markets, which exist around the world, after Sunday Mirror published disturbing images of the bodies of animals including bats, snakes and dogs dumped on the street for sale in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, despite calls for wet markets around the world to be banned following the outbreak.
Speaking to The Mirror, the actor said: “For the sake of people and animals, wildlife trade and consumption has to end, now.
“We can’t carry on exploiting animals, eating wildlife and trashing the planet. The wildlife trade and markets have to close, otherwise it will be a case of when, and not if, we have another global pandemic.
“How bad does this have to get before you close down Indonesia’s extreme animal markets that pose the exact same risk as the wildlife wet markets in Wuhan, China?”
Image credit: Ricky Gervais/Facebook
