Preventing the Next Wildlife-related Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic, believed to have originated in a wet market in China, demonstrates the catastrophic health and economic risks from consuming and trading wild animals like pangolins. The worldwide attention on COVID-19 creates a unique opportunity to fully shut down illegal trade and consumption of pangolins and other threatened wild animals. PCF is partnering with WildAid through a special $1 million grant on a multi-faceted campaign to reduce the consumption of wildlife products and meats, especially pangolins, while building public support for the closure of wildlife markets and restaurants serving illegal wildlife. WildAid has a successful history of reducing the price, the import, and the consumption of illegal wildlife products through their campaigns. WildAid will build on its existing capacity, programs and relationships to help governments throughout Asia address this issue through a major communications campaign targeting consumers in an effort to educate and encourage behavioral change, assist with capacity building for enforcement personnel, and generate public and political support for policy changes. This partnership was made possible by a single visionary donor specifically to enable this opportunity.