Coronavirus (COVID-19) is a virus that began its spread in a wet market in Wuhan, China. The fear in China broke out when people began falling sick with a fever and a dry cough and in more sever cases with pneumonia like symptoms. The virus most likely spread from an animal, supposedly a bat or a pangolin to a human being from the Huanan Market in Wuhan when 27 of the first 41 affected human beings had been to that same market.

Wet markets have been around since the 1970s. The Chinese population was suffering from famine and in order to combat this issue small farmers began bringing in new animals into the market for consumption. These new wildlife markets sustained the population and brought in an influx of money, thus the Chinese government allowed for the wildlife markets to persist. In 2003 the SARS virus arose from Guangzhou, China from a similar wet market. The outbreak reached 29 countries and killed nearly 800 people. Eighteen years later a similar pneumonia like virus, Coronavirus, has reached 177 countries and has killed more than 15,000 people so far and unfortunately has yet to grow. 

The wet markets host animals such as deer, ostrich, peacocks, bats, dogs, foxes, camels, rabbits, turtles, snakes and even endangered species such as lions, tigers, and pangolins. The cages of the animals are stacked one on top of the other with their pus, blood, and excrements oozing down on the other animals. That is exactly how a virus from one animal can pass onto another then infecting a human being who then infects other human beings. Not to speak of the unsanitary handling of the animals but also the inhumane care for the animals is also of concern. 

The Chinese government has temporarily closed down thousands of wet markets in China but we must urge China to shut down all of these markets permanently in order to avoid such disastrous events from taking place in the future. As long as these wet markets are allowed to exist in China these viruses will continue to infect our people and kill thousands maybe even hundreds of thousands of innocent people. 

Please kindly pay serious attention to this matter. Help protect our world from this horrendous nightmare we are currently living in and sign this petition to contribute for the wellbeing of our people. Thank you all!