To the Attention of UN Secretary-General António Guterres,

In markets across the world, exotic and traditionally farmed animals are traded and brutally slaughtered for customers who desire to eat freshly killed meat. These outdoor shops, called wet markets, get their name in part from the blood that soaks the stalls’ floors after live animals are killed once purchased.

Animals at wet markets are mixed together in cramped cages and unsanitary enclosures, creating the perfect breeding ground for zoonotic diseases. It is in these unregulated markets where diseases like SARS originated, and where scientists believe COVID-19 began.

Because of the public health crises these markets can cause, as well as the intense suffering inflicted on animals, these wet markets need to be banned.

We, the undersigned, call upon Your Excellencies to demand that these wet markets be immediately banned wherever they are operated, saving animals from a hell on earth and protecting the public from threats to their health and safety.

Petitioning: H.E. UN Secretary-General António Guterres H.E. UN Deputy Secretary General Amina J. Mohammed H.E. UN General Assembly President Tijjani Muhammad-Bande H.E. UN Economic and Social Council President Mona Juul H.E. UN Security Council President Zhang Jun

Cc: Ambassadors to Member States with Animal Equality Offices H.E. Ms. Karen Elizabeth Pierce, Permanent Representative of the United Kingdom to the UN H.E. Mrs. Kelly Craft, Permanent Representative of the United States to the UN H.E. Mr. Agustín Santos Maraver, Permanent Representative of Spain to the UN H.E. Mr. Christoph Heusgen, Permanent Representative of Germany to the UN H.E. Mr. Juan Ramón de la Fuente Ramírez, Permanent Representative of Mexico to the UN H.E. Mrs. Maria Angela Zappia, Permanent Representative of Italy to the UN H.E. Mr. Ronaldo Costa Filho, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the UN H.E. Mr. Syed Akbaruddin, Permanent Representative of India to the UN