A politically diverse and broad coalition is forming to pressure China to close the wild food markets of bat, cat, and dog meat blamed for the outbreak of the coronavirus and a number of other pandemics, including the 2003 SARS epidemic.

Embraced by Lara Trump, Sen. Lindsey Graham, and several animal rights activists, including the Humane Society of the United States, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, and Animal Wellness Action, the goal is to pressure Beijing directly to close the markets like the one in Wuhan, which is believed to have sold an infected animal for a family “feast.”

While still a loose group of advocates, its efforts are starting to focus on stopping the reopening of the “wet markets,” another name for live and dead animal meat markets, in China, which claims the crisis is nearly over.

“It is undeniable that the risks posed by ‘wet markets’ are too great and the cruelty too severe to allow them to operate even one more day,” said Trump, the president’s daughter-in-law and top reelection campaign official. “I hope for the sake of humanity the country immediately discontinues this horrific and cruel tradition,” she told Secrets.

The effort has no official leader, but people close to Trump said that she would be open to helping build the coalition in a personal capacity unrelated to her campaign duties.

Trump has long been an animal advocate and has worked with the administration on key issues, including officially outlawing the consumption of dogs and cats in the U.S., pushing to close puppy mills, and linking ailing veterans with support animals. She is married to Eric Trump.

Lara Trump talks to guests at the New York City Veterans Day Parade at Madison Square Park in New York, Monday, Nov. 11, 2019. She has long been an animal rights activist and is eager to end the live animal markets in China. (Andrew Harnik/AP)

Graham has spoken out on the issue, joining the coronavirus task force’s Dr. Anthony Fauci, who said last week that markets should be closed “right away.”

Several online petitions have already taken off. PETA has one with over 100,000 signatures. It urges the World Health Organization to close the markets worldwide.

PETA’s Ashley Byrne said the virus is a “wake up call” to force the markets to close, including those in the U.S. — there are some 80 in New York that hawk birds and goats. “This absolutely should be a priority,” she said.

Humane Society President Kitty Block said, “The ongoing coronavirus crisis, which could result in the deaths of hundreds of thousands of Americans and millions of other people the world over, has taught us many important lessons about what we should and shouldn’t be doing in order to keep ourselves healthy. One of the most important is the link between wildlife markets, which cause so much animal suffering, and the public health risks of a pandemic.”

‘Shut down those things right away’: Calls to close ‘wet markets’ ramp up pressure on China https://t.co/tPnWc56g0Q via @politico — Senator John Cornyn (@JohnCornyn) April 6, 2020

Animal Wellness Action, run by former Humane Society President Wayne Pacelle, has also posted a petition against China. He noted that the country has pledged to close the markets in the past but didn't.

"China's decision to pull back on its decision to close wet markets just days after announcing a ban on them is a public relations disaster," said Pacelle. "You can draw a straight line from the Chinese government's decision to promote wet markets as a business enterprise and the emergence of a deadly infectious disease that was the agent of this global catastrophe," he said.

Blair Brandt, an adviser to Lara Trump and a top GOP fundraiser in Florida, said he has been encouraged by Shenzhen's decision to ban the eating of dogs and cats. And he praised conservatives who have joined in the fight.

They include House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, who just posted this on Facebook: “China is opening up its wet markets again. Have enough people not already died?! Has there not already been enough financial destruction around the world?!”

Brandt added, “Hopefully there can be some silver lining to the pain and suffering the world is going through. Right now, the immediate focus is, of course, on our health and our livelihoods, but let’s be clear-eyed at the same time that China shutting down their wet markets nationally and immediately ending the dog and cat meat trade should be a first step in protecting the global community and towards preventing this from ever happening again.”