Should ‘wet markets’ be banned?

Mr. Trinh Le Nguyen, PanNature’s Executive Director was joining Al Jazeera News’s online panel discussing wildlife trade and control measures in Vietnam.  

Coronavirus pandemic leads to growing calls to ban markets where many people buy fresh meat and vegetables. Scientists are still trying to confirm the exact source of the new coronavirus sweeping across the world.

It is believed the virus may have jumped from exotic animals to humans at a market in Wuhan, China.

That has led to growing calls to ban “wet markets”, where many people in Asia and other parts of the world buy fresh meat and vegetables.

Most of them do not sell wild animals such as bats. Scientists are nevertheless worried about the close contact between humans and wildlife in wet markets.

Should markets like these be banned?

Presenter: Bernard Smith

Guests:

• Trinh Le Nguyen – executive director at PanNature, a conservation NGO in Vietnam
• Muhammad Munir – virologist at Lancaster University
• Kaddu Sebunya – CEO of the African Wildlife Foundation

Source: Al Jazeera News