Zoonotic diseases, or infectious diseases that can spread from animals to humans, were the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is estimated to have killed at least 3 million people in 2020 alone. At the time, there was evidence that minks being farmed for their fur in Denmark were contracting COVID and passing it to humans. In response to COVID outbreaks in more than 200 farms, Denmark culled 17 million minks.
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A new study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science argues that
there should be a moratorium on building or expanding poultry and
pig farms because of the high risk of zoonotic disease.
While the study focused specifically on the U.K., the findings
concern pig and poultry farming globally.
"The disease risks to humans from industrialized intensive animal
farming, and especially mixed swine and poultry farms, are enormous,
and must not be understated," the report says. "The authors
therefore strongly discourage granting any planning applications for
new or expanding industrialized intensive animal farms, especially
poultry and pig farms or a mix thereof, and especially in areas with
high existing concentrations of intensive animal farms."
Zoonotic diseases, or infectious diseases that can spread from
animals to humans, were the cause of the COVID-19 pandemic, which is
estimated to have killed at least 3 million people in 2020 alone. At
the time, there was evidence that minks being farmed for their fur
in Denmark were contracting COVID and passing it to humans. In
response to COVID outbreaks in more than 200 farms, Denmark culled
17 million minks.
"I worry we are not doing enough to monitor that situation to make
sure this virus isn’t spilling into the animal populations,"
Jonathan Runstadler, professor in the department of infectious
disease and global health at the Tufts University Cummings School of
Veterinary Medicine, told NBC News in 2020. "The other area to be
concerned about is having this virus spill into an animal host that
becomes a regional or local reservoir for viral infections,"
In addition to fur farms, factory farms have been responsible for
multiple zoonotic disease outbreaks, including the 1997 Bird Flu
(H5N1), 2009 Swine Flu (H1N1), and 2020 Bird Flu (H7N3). Recent
reports assert that the next global pandemic may come from
commercial factory farms, which are breeding grounds for zoonotic
diseases due to overcrowding, limited genetic diversity, compromised
hygiene and elevated stress levels in animals.
"There is exceptionally strong evidence for a link between low
animal welfare levels and high disease transmission risks," Andrew
Knight, co-author of the report and professor in the School of
Environment and Science at Griffith University, told FarmingUK.
"These environments are fertile breeding grounds for the emergence
of new influenza pandemics and other dangerous diseases."
These factors collectively weaken the immune systems of the animals
involved, which make them more susceptible to spreading diseases
that can make the jump to humans.
"There are also established concerns about intensive farms being hot
beds for disease," Jenny Mace, an animal welfare lecturer at the
University of Winchester and co-author of the report, told
FarmingUK. "Despite these concerns, planning permissions are still
being granted for new intensive farms or expansions of existing
farms."
While there has been a steady increase in legislative attempts to
place a moratorium on factory farms, such as the Farm System Reform
Act, introduced over multiple legislative sessions by Sen. Cory
Booker (D-New Jersey), factory farms are increasing globally. In the
U.S., 99 percent of animals farmed for meat are raised in factory
farms.
The report’s authors argue that instead of building or expanding
factory farms, "[e]fforts should concentrate on supporting arable
agriculture (or transitions toward this), and on de-intensifying
remaining animal farms."
Zane McNeill is a trending news writer at Truthout. They have a Master’s Degree in Political Science from Central European University and is currently enrolled in law school at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law. They can be found on Twitter: @zane_crittheory.
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