Around the world, animals are traded on market stands for meat and medicinal products. It’s no secret that many of the species sought after for traditional medicine also happen to be critically endangered. The demand for tiger bone, rhino horn, pangolin scales and bear bile drive a lucrative trade. These animals and many more are big business for illegal poachers. Furthermore, the open-air 'wet markets' that sell these wild animals products, as well as freshly butchered domestic livestock, have become breeding grounds for animal-borne diseases. It was in a wet market that bird flu, SARS and - more recently - coronavirus made the jump from animal to human hosts...
