The Hunt For A Coronavirus Vaccine Has Been Horrendous For Some Animals

 Yes, Cats and Dogs too. 

The hunt for a coronavirus vaccine has been horrendous for some animals. As part of the drive to save human lives, thousands of cheeky monkeys, ferrets, cats, mice and hamsters have been deliberately infected and experimented on in labs. 

Pfizer and BioNTech, the big pharma companies behind the vaccine that caused excitement yesterday, have treated monkeys and mice with contempt. While their human researchers have been protected with elaborate PPE, the animals in their care have been trapped and deliberately infected. Some were injected with an inoculation first and some weren’t.

For animal lovers, that creates a dilemma. In what circumstances will you turn a blind eye to animals being harmed?

Many people think that being vegan is just about not eating meat and animal products but it is really so much more than that. Veganism, as defined by the Vegan Society, is a bid “to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”

Everyone wants to see the back of Covid-19 but, as an animal lover and a vegan, should I accept a jab that’s the result of animal cruelty? I say no – and not just for moral reasons.

There is convincing evidence that most epidemics and pandemics, including Covid-19, have actually been caused by humans “playing god” and exploiting animals. In August, a white paper found that nearly every major zoonotic disease outbreak over the last 120 years is inextricably linked to animal exploitation, including meat consumption.

The human cost is huge: even before Covid-19, two million people were dying from zoonotic diseases each year. A separate report from the UN said the number of zoonotic epidemics – the ones that can be transmitted from animals to people – is rising, from Ebola to Sars to West Nile virus and Rift Valley fever.

The authors warned that although the world is treating the health and economic symptoms of this coronavirus pandemic, governments are ignoring the root causes: humans’ destruction of nature and meat eating. 

We need to wake up. Since it was exploiting animals that got us into this mess, it’s both immoral and ill-advised to exploit more animals now.

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