COVID-19 effects on zoos and animal conservation

[Ding Lingwei]

Thylo, Has this officially been changed to a Zoonotic disease? I thought that had been ruled out, and one of my vets (a European surgeon) specifically said surgical patients were not in danger. Has this been announced? If this is true, it could also explain why zoos are now suddenly closing en masse.

Funky Gibbon, I too appreciate your knowledge of wet markets worldwide, and dt644's translation really puts in perspective what endangered species are being sold. I can't stress enough, in contrast, though that venison eaten here is the product of sport that many discard and is also an animal that MUST be hunted because its populations are SO vast and out of control. I know I've mentioned this, but I live 40 miles from NYC in heavily-populated suburbia, and I see deer in my town several times a day. They have lost habitat as the mountain nearby has been overbuilt with homes, and they have had to lose natural fear of highways and people. Venison is very "gamey," and a friend who runs a slaughterhouse reports that they process as many donations during hunting season as they do paying jobs. It's not a delicacy, not in great demand, and not at all in the same league with eating Chinese giant alligators.

The only endangered species listed there are the Giant Salamander and Chinese Alligator (and then only if one assumes that "alligator" is that species). Potentially "pheasant" could include endangered species also. However the majority of the species listed are either domestic or farmed animals.

Giant Salamanders are farmed in huge numbers in China for meat (literally in millions, although wild animals are still also hunted), and alligators and crocodiles likewise.

The "alligators" are mostly likely Siamese crocodiles, which are also farmed in great numbers in China.“鳄鱼”is the general name for any crocodilian species.

 

[Chlidonias]

But God, I hope you're wrong. Exotic, domestic, and wild animal populations worldwide could produce staggering death tolls, along with a serious problem of what to do with the bodies. Has anyone heard anything either way, definitively, from health agencies or even statistics from China?

A zoonotic disease is simply one spread to humans from animals. That's all that zoonotic means. Zoonoses are very common - there are probably hundreds of them - and a disease being zoonotic doesn't mean that it is just being spread willy-nilly from all animals to humans. Some come from only one animal (e.g. dengue from mosquitoes to humans), while others are more widespread (e.g. Salmonellosis). But you're very unlikely to contract any zoonosis from a visit to the zoo.

 

[AmbikaFan]

Yes, but haven't there been diseases of zoonotic origins that continued to affect humans and multiple animal species? Like Orthopox (Cowpox, Horsepox, Monkeypox)? Despite the smallpox vaccine in humans, varrinea is not an entirely effective animal vaccine. And the poxes are still widely contracted and spread by rodents.

 

[AmbikaFan]

A zoonotic disease is simply one spread to humans from animals. That's all that zoonotic means. Zoonoses are very common - there are probably hundreds of them - and a disease being zoonotic doesn't mean that it is just being spread willy-nilly from all animals to humans. Some come from only one animal (e.g. dengue from mosquitoes to humans), while others are more widespread (e.g. Salmonellosis). But you're very unlikely to contract any zoonosis from a visit to the zoo.

That wasn't my concern. I thought zoonotic diseases could be transmitted both ways and thought a determination of zoonosis would mean animals could contract COVID-19 from humans. Since I thought that had been ruled out, this seemed like a huge development. Thanks, both of you. I know just enough to know very little.

 

[Chlidonias]

That wasn't my concern. I thought zoonotic diseases could be transmitted both ways and thought a determination of zoonosis would mean animals could contract COVID-19 from humans. Since I thought that had been ruled out, this seemed like a huge development. Thanks, both of you. I know just enough to know very little.

Diseases transmitted from human to animal are called reverse zoonoses and they certainly do occur, especially to primates and pigs. But a disease being zoonotic doesn't mean that it can just automatically swap back and forth between random species.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

I thought zoonotic diseases could be transmitted both ways and feared for animals contracting COVID-19 from humans.

They often can - but "both ways" would be this:

Animal A >>> Human
Human >>> Animal A

Not this:

Animal A >>> Human
Human >>> Animal B/C/D

Being able to hop between species doesn't mean a pathogen can hop between any species.

 

[AmbikaFan]

Diseases transmitted from human to animal are called reverse zoonoses and they certainly do occur, especially to primates and pigs. But a disease being zoonotic doesn't mean that it can just automatically swap back and forth between random species.

But it can between species and humans, as with the poxes?

 

[AmbikaFan]

They often can - but "both ways" would be this:

Animal A >>> Human
Human >>> Animal A

Not this:

Animal A >>> Human
Human >>> Animal B/C/D

Being able to hop between species doesn't mean a pathogen can hop between any species.

But isn't that precisely what happens with Orthopox? Not species to species, but multiple species back and forth to humans? (Agreeably over considerable time perhaps) Aren't almost all diseases zoonotic between primates and humans?

 

[Chlidonias]

But isn't that precisely what happens with Orthopox? Not species to species, but multiple species back and forth to humans? (Agreeably over considerable time perhaps) Aren't almost all diseases zoonotic between primates and humans?

There are lots of different zoonoses and reverse zoonoses, and they cover various forms of life - viral, fungal, bacterial, etc. Some are host-specific and some are not. Just because one can infect multiple species does not mean that any other random zoonosis can do the same.

Also, Orthopoxvirus isn't one zoonosis - it is a group of related species which differ in host range. Smallpox was one of those Orthopoxvirus species, now eradicated, which was host-specific.

 

[TeaLovingDave]

Smallpox was one of those Orthopoxvirus species, now eradicated, which was host-specific.

This being precisely why it was possible to eradicate it, of course.

Another Orthopoxvirus which is host-specific is Utrecht Rabbitpox.

 

[dt644]

The "alligators" are mostly likely Siamese crocodiles, which are also farmed in great numbers in China.“鳄鱼”is the general name for any crocodilian species.

Ding Lingwei is right. In the East asian culture, usually call all alligator and crocodile to same name, without distinguishing.(Korean: 악어(ageo), Japanese: ワニ(wani))

It seems to me that the crocodile consumed for food in China is a hybrid of the Siamese crocodile and the Saltwater crocodile, which are also mass-breeding for leather production in Southeast Asia.

And the wattle-necked softshell turtle is also an endangered species. This species is rated EN class in IUCN and designated as II class in CITES.

 

[DavidBrown]

If anyone wants to see this story visualized on film, the [SPOILER ALERT] end of Contagion shows it quite brilliantly.

An additional image has been posted:

~Thylo

 

[Junklekitteb]

Potentially "pheasant" could include endangered species also.

Several sources have claimed these are ring-necked pheasant, so not endangered.

There are also claims of koalas being sold, but one of the sources earlier confirmed it is actually bamboo rat.

 

[dt644]

活树熊: Live bamboo rats ('树熊'(shùxióng) originally means 'Koala', but that is not real koala. According to a Japanese blog that I referred to it, the research found that bamboo rats(芒鼠) were distributed in the area, calling them '树熊')

There are also claims of koalas being sold, but one of the sources earlier confirmed it is actually bamboo rat.

The fact that the animal that was eaten by the name koala in China was actually a bamboo rat, not a koala, can also be seen in this article that posted nine years ago.

This photo posted in a Chinese article in 2018.
The animal in the cage is clearly not a koala.
But you can see that it written '树熊,' which means koala.
​

'树' means 'tree', and '熊' means 'bear'. So I think it is named because bamboo rat climb trees and look similar to bears.

​

 

[lintworm]

The fact that the animal that was eaten by the name koala in China was actually a bamboo rat, not a koala, can also be seen in this article that posted nine years ago.

This photo posted in a Chinese article in 2018.
The animal in the cage is clearly not a koala.
But you can see that it written '树熊,' which means koala.
​

'树' means 'tree', and '熊' means 'bear'. So I think it is named because bamboo rat climb trees and look similar to bears.

​

The picture shows a Marmot, not a Bamboo Rat

 

[dt644]

The picture shows a Marmot, not a Bamboo Rat

Yes, that's why I wrote that picture 'animal,' not a 'bamboo rat.' I could find a few more pictures besides that, but there was an animal that looked like a marmot.

 

[Blijdorpenaar]

Update from the Netherlands: every single EAZA zoo has been closed untill at least April 6th

 

[FunkyGibbon]

One zoo (or rather institution) I am quite worried about is Singapore. With the island and its collections so heavily relying on the tourism industry, surely they must be taking a major financial hit.

I wouldn't worry too much. The government won't allow any harm to come to the zoo.

no one is farming deer with any intention of selling their meat

Actually in the UK people do farm deer. And apparently we import a lot of farmed venison from New Zealand (who knew!).

 

[AmbikaFan]

I was speaking of the US, but this is very interesting to know. Thank you.

 

[TheMightyOrca]

San Antonio Zoo is closed.

I'm seeing a lot of the closed US facilities are trying to keep an active presence on social media. That's a good idea, keep the zoo in people's minds. I'm sure once the quarantine periods are over people are gonna be anxious to go out again. Zoos and other places will definitely need the support. If I qualify for unemployment I'd definitely like to make some trips. I actually planned on going to the SA Zoo last week for spring break but then the outbreak started and I figured I should hold off.