From the Endangered Species Coalition (https://www.endangered.org/):
The staggering and still-increasing death toll from the COVID pandemic is overwhelming and difficult to grasp. The magnitude of the loss and suffering is horrific. While we grieve, reflect, and continue to protect our communities and ourselves, we must also act.
Sign the petition at https://actionnetwork.org/forms/sign-the-petition-joe-biden-and-congress-must-stop-deforestation-in-order-to-prevent-the-next-pandemic to support funding to end deforestation to protect wildlife and people.
Pandemics are both accelerating, and getting worse, and tropical deforestation is by-far the largest cause of new outbreaks.1 In order to prevent the next global pandemic, we must protect wildlife from exploitation and stop deforestation. Fortunately, we are able to halt deforestation before it’s too late, but it will require legislation and a commitment from the U.S. government to take action now. We have seen effective models2 for tackling deforestation, and we know it’s possible.
Indigenous and local communities have been forced to give up their lands to cover the cost of basic needs. Big polluters purchase then raze these forests. We can break this cycle by helping rainforest-edge communities with healthcare and job training.
Ending deforestation and taking action to stop human exploitation of animals in live markets and other areas of the wildlife trade are urgently-needed in order to prevent another, similar pandemic and the cataclysmic loss that would accompany it. Please ask Congress and the Biden Administration to fund and begin these measures today.
Thank you for your commitment to wildlife and wild places.
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