A non-profit organisation, Wild Africa, has sought urgent and consistent action to reduce the risk of future pandemics by curbing illegal bush meat trade, expediting the passage of the new wildlife bill, and protecting natural habitats.
   
The group made the appeal in a statement to mark World Zoonosis Day (WZD), observed every July 6 to commemorate the day Louis Pasteur successfully administered the first rabies vaccine in 1885, a milestone in the prevention of zoonotic diseases.    The diseases, known as zoonoses, are infectious diseases that can be transmitted from animals to humans.
 
They include Ebola, Mpox (also known as Monkeypox), Lassa Fever, and COVID-19 — all of which have affected Nigeria in recent years. 
 
According to the World Health Organisation (WHO), a staggering 75 per cent of emerging infectious diseases in humans originate from animals, with 71.8 per cent of these emerging from wildlife.
  
In Nigeria, the illegal bush meat trade, particularly in endangered species like pangolins, bats, monkeys, and snakes, persists in open markets and roadside stalls.
  
While bush meat is considered a source of animal protein in remote communities, its increasing demand in urban areas, such as Lagos, Abuja, and Port Harcourt, is a cause for concern.

During past outbreaks like Ebola and Anthrax, federal and state governments temporarily cracked down on bush meat markets. But with waning public attention and inconsistent enforcement, traders and buyers often return to business as usual.
  
Zoonotic diseases’ transmission happens through direct or indirect human-animal interaction (animal bites, scratches, faeces), in addition to the consumption of animal products and their environments, including natural, cultivated, built (i.e., abattoirs) and commercial environments, such as wet markets.
  
Although many zoonotic transmissions happen between humans and domestic animals, including livestock, the majority, up to 71.8 per cent, of zoonotic diseases arise from wildlife species. In fact, the most devastating pandemics in human history were all caused by zoonoses from wildlife.
  
While Nigeria has made progress recently in protecting endangered species by introducing the Endangered Species Conservation and Protection Bill, which has passed its third reading and will now transit to the Senate for further consideration, more needs to be done to support the bill for the President’s approval and its enforcement as a law.
  
Wild Africa implored the populace to shun the sale and consumption of bush meat, joining the concerted effort against it.
 
“The non-profit is running an awareness campaign across Nigeria, utilising TV, radio, print media, billboards, and social media to inform the public that the health of humans, animals, and the environment is highly interconnected, and that we must protect wildlife to protect ourselves,” West Africa Representative at Wild Africa, Dr Mark Ofua, said.
 
He added: “World Zoonosis Day is a reminder that protecting wildlife is protecting ourselves. By embracing the One Health approach, which unites human, animal, and environmental health, we can break the chain of zoonotic diseases.”