The Wildlife Disease Association is a US-based non-profit whose membership comprises professionals from across the globe engaged in the science of wildlife health. Our Mission Statement and Charter of Values recognize that “the conservation of biological diversity is of benefit and essential to human society now and in the future” and that “the health of wild animals, humans, and domestic animals, are interconnected and interdependent within a shared environment (‘One Health’)”. Critically, it also specifically reminds us that wildlife health transcends political boundaries and that rigorous scientific research is the best defense against the challenges to and those presented by wildlife health.
In the United States, wildlife health management decisions are the purview of state and federal and tribal agencies, supported by evidence-based knowledge (produced by academic and governmental researchers), which has supported and emphasized the direct link between healthy wildlife and the health and well-being of humans and their economies.
There are numerous examples connecting wildlife health to economic value in our society. Plummeting US bat populations due to White Nose Syndrome have cost the agriculture industry an estimated $22.9 billion dollars (Boyles et al, 2011).
The health of wildlife can play a role in the origins of zoonotic and other diseases that impact people and domestic animals such as rabies. However, the majority of zoonoses come directly from domestic/peridomestic animals or are facilitated by them (e.g. avian influenza) or through insect vectors such as Lyme disease. Wildlife health is directly tied environmental health, and where ecosystems are stable, few diseases emerge from wildlife (Wallace, 2018). This emphasizes that healthy habitats and wildlife is key in protecting public health.
In addition, the ongoing surveillance of wildlife is also important to national security in the US especially in the prevention of bioterrorism (Neo, 2017), as animals can harbor biological agents used in bioterrorism such as anthrax or plague.
The WDA exists to disseminate research results, facilitate networks among professionals, and contribute to the betterment of communities, human and animal. As such the association is justifiably concerned that the current shift of the US Administration away from scientific endeavor (through federal funding cuts to research or jobs at relevant federal agencies) will negatively impact wildlife health, putting biological biodiversity, human societies, agriculture and ecosystems at significant risk, not just in North America, but globally.
We therefore urge our members to contact their government representatives and express their support for science and the agencies and staff dedicated to ensuring that evidence-based information continues to guide wildlife interventions and management. Only in this way can we stand in solidarity and ensure wildlife health remains a high priority for nations everywhere.
REFERENCES
Boyles JG, et al. 2011. Economic Importance of Bats in Agriculture. Science 332, 41-42Tapi. DOI:10.1126/science.1201366
Wallace, R. et al. (2018). The Social Context of the Emergence of Vector-Borne Diseases. In: Clear-Cutting Disease Control. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-72850-6_1
Neo JPS, Tan BH. 2017. The use of animals as a surveillance tool for monitoring environmental health hazards, human health hazards and bioterrorism. Veterinary Microbiology 203: 40-48; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.vetmic.2017.02.007.
