To help prevent the spread of Covid-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus which was traced from Wuhan, China, the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has asked the Department of Agriculture (DA) on Wednesday to permanently close live-animal meat markets, or “wet markets,” across the country.

PETA pointed out that markets crammed full of sick and stressed animals are breeding grounds for deadly diseases that could affect humans and cause a pandemic.

“It’s a matter of when—not if—the next pandemic will occur, as long as live-animal markets are permitted to continue endangering both humans and other animals,” PETA Senior Vice President Jason Baker said in a news statement. The appeal forms part of an urgent letter sent by the group to Agriculture Secretary William Dar amid the growing virus infection threat in the Philippines.

Covid-19 which was traced to have started at a wet market in Wuhan has prompted the Chinese government to stop consumption and trade of animal wildlife.

President Duterte has declared the entire country under a State of Public Health Emergency and ordered a Luzon-wide enhanced community quarantine, suspending government work and classes, closing down businesses and suspending public transportation to limit movements that could worsen an uncontrollable human-to-human transmission of the disease.

So far, the number of infected people, as well as fatalities, continues to rise. As of March 31, the number of infected persons has reached 2,084. The death toll has also reached 88.

There are already reports of human-to-animal transmission of the dreaded disease, with dogs and cats having been tested positive of Covid-19 in other countries.

The Department of Health has yet to begin mass testing to determine the extent of infection all over the country.

“PETA is urging the Philippines to take the next logical step and close these dangerous operations,” the PETA statement read.

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to eat” and which opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview—notes that deadly outbreaks of swine flu, avian flu, SARS, HIV, Ebola, hoof-and-mouth disease, mad cow disease and other maladies have stemmed from capturing, or farming animals for food.

It believes that live-animal markets are perfect breeding grounds for diseases, which can jump from various other species to humans, since stressed, injured, and sickly animals are commonly caged in public areas and on sidewalks—where feces, blood, and offal can contaminate buyers and sellers.

While some live-animal markets in China have closed, possibly temporarily, many continue to operate throughout Asia, including at the Balintawak Public Market and Farmers’ Market in Quezon City, the group noted.