Simple Summary Human activities, such as changing the environmental landscape or developing animal-related tourist attractions and zoos, have greatly increased the interactions between humans and animals. Due to this increase in direct contact between humans and animals, the risk of transmission of infections called zoonoses, meaning originating in animals, has increased. We aim to review how human activities have driven zoonoses and why it is so important to study this topic in order to help develop preventative measures against further zoonotic infections in the public. Abstract As humans expand their territories across more and more regions of the planet, activities such as deforestation, urbanization, tourism, wildlife exploitation, and climate change can have drastic consequences for animal movements and animal–human interactions. These events, especially climate change, can also affect the arthropod vectors that are associated with the animals in these scenarios. As the COVID-19 pandemic and other various significant outbreaks throughout the centuries have demonstrated, when animal patterns and human interactions change, so does the exposure of humans to zoonotic pathogens potentially carried by wildlife. With approximately 60% of emerging human pathogens and around 75% of all emerging infectious diseases being categorized as zoonotic, it is of great importance to examine the impact of human activities on the prevalence and transmission of these infectious agents. A better understanding of the impact of human-related factors on zoonotic disease transmission and prevalence can help drive the preventative measures and containment policies necessary to improve public health.

/pdf/the-impact-of-human-activities-on-zoonotic-infection-cdiznvuq.pdf

The Impact of Human Activities on Zoonotic Infection Transmissions

Illegal wildlife trade, which mostly focuses on high-demand species, constitutes a major threat to biodiversity. However, whether poaching is an opportunistic crime within high-demand taxa such as parrots (i.e., harvesting proportional to species availability in the wild), or is selectively focused on particular, more desirable species, is still under debate. Answering this question has important conservation implications because selective poaching can lead to the extinction of some species through overharvesting. However, the challenges of estimating species abundances in the wild have hampered studies on this subject. We conducted a large-scale survey in Colombia to simultaneously estimate the relative abundance of wild parrots through roadside surveys (recording 10,811 individuals from 25 species across 2221 km surveyed) and as household, illegally trapped pets in 282 sampled villages (1179 individuals from 21 species). We used for the first time a selectivity index to test selection on poaching. Results demonstrated that poaching is not opportunistic, but positively selects species based on their attractiveness, defined as a function of species size, coloration, and ability to talk, which is also reflected in their local prices. Our methodological approach, which shows how selection increases the conservation impacts of poaching for parrots, can be applied to other taxa also impacted by harvesting for trade or other purposes.

/pdf/opportunistic-or-non-random-wildlife-crime-attractiveness-obxkkr9pk0.pdf

Opportunistic or Non-Random Wildlife Crime? Attractiveness Rather Than Abundance in the Wild Leads to Selective Parrot Poaching

Effects of legalization and wildlife farming on conservation

The order Psittaciformes is one of the most prevalent groups in the illegal wildlife trade. Efforts to understand this threat have focused on describing the elements of the trade itself: actors, extraction rates, and routes. However, the development of policy-oriented interventions also requires an understanding of how research aims and actions are distributed across the trade chain, regions, and species. We used an action-based approach to review documents published on illegal Psittaciformes trade at a global scale to analyze patterns in research aims and actions. Research increased exponentially in recent decades, recording 165 species from 46 genera, with an over representation of American and Australasian genera. Most of the research provided basic knowledge for the intermediary side of the trade chain. Aims such as the identification of network actors, zoonosis control, and aiding physical detection had numerous but scarcely cited documents (low growth rate), while behavior change had the highest growth rate. The Americas had the highest diversity of research aims, contributing with basic knowledge, implementation, and monitoring across the whole trade chain. Better understanding of the supply side dynamics in local markets, actor typology, and actor interactions are needed. Protecting areas, livelihood incentives, and legal substitutes are actions under-explored in parrots, while behavior change is emerging.

/pdf/a-literature-synthesis-of-actions-to-tackle-illegal-parrot-3ybi0rnvc3.pdf

A Literature Synthesis of Actions to Tackle Illegal Parrot Trade

Tigers are killed to supply a demand for many wildlife products despite a ban on commercial international trade. As populations decrease, products from substitute species (i.e. lions and leopards) have been fraudulently sold as tiger. DNA forensic techniques are needed to definitively identify tiger in order to secure prosecutions although this is complicated by the presence of numts. Therefore, we have developed and validated a CO1 genetic marker that preferentially amplifies the mtDNA CO1 region and excludes the nuclear CO1 pseudogene, which we expect to be of use in tiger forensic casework.

Avoiding common numts to provide reliable species identification for tiger parts

As apex predators, jaguars have significant cultural importance in the Americas and are a key species for monitoring the health of ecosystems. Threats to jaguar populations include human-wildlife conflict, habitat destruction, and poaching driven by markets for jaguar products including trophies and traditional Chinese medicine. Using semi-structured interviews and participant observations, this short contribution provides a product-based crime script for the production of jaguar paste in Suriname. The findings indicate demand for jaguar paste facilitates opportunistic and organized hunting in and around protected areas, and near extractive industries such as mining and logging. A number of actors, and locations, are involved in the production of paste from live jaguars; the final product is often exported to China after being sold in medicinal shops in Suriname. Possible interventions are included alongside each step in the crime script. The short contribution highlights the potential for using crime scripts in wildlife protection to aid prevention efforts.

/pdf/the-production-of-jaguar-paste-in-suriname-a-product-based-znw8mvfxmg.pdf

The production of jaguar paste in Suriname: a product-based crime script

African lions (Panthera leo) are bred in captivity on commercial farms across South Africa and often have close contact with farm staff, tourists, and other industry workers. As transmission of zoonotic diseases occurs through close proximity between wildlife and humans, these commercial captive breeding operations pose a potential risk to thousands of captive lions and to public health. An understanding of pathogens known to affect lions is needed to effectively assess the risk of disease emergence and transmission within the industry. Here, we conduct a systematic search of the academic literature, identifying 148 peer-reviewed studies, to summarize the range of pathogens and parasites known to affect African lions. A total of 63 pathogenic organisms were recorded, belonging to 35 genera across 30 taxonomic families. Over half were parasites (35, 56%), followed by viruses (17, 27%) and bacteria (11, 17%). A number of novel pathogens representing unidentified and undescribed species were also reported. Among the pathogenic inventory are species that can be transmitted from lions to other species, including humans. In addition, 83 clinical symptoms and diseases associated with these pathogens were identified. Given the risks posed by infectious diseases, this research highlights the potential public health risks associated with the captive breeding industry. We recommend that relevant authorities take imminent action to help prevent and manage the risks posed by zoonotic pathogens on lion farms.

/pdf/african-lions-and-zoonotic-diseases-implications-for-4kv6rf8kvw.pdf

African Lions and Zoonotic Diseases: Implications for Commercial Lion Farms in South Africa.

/pdf/tricks-of-the-trade-legal-trade-used-to-conceal-endangered-29dk3r57o7.pdf

Tricks of the trade—legal trade used to conceal Endangered African grey parrots on commercial flights

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The production of jaguar paste in Suriname: a product-based crime script

African Lions and Zoonotic Diseases: Implications for Commercial Lion Farms in South Africa.

Tricks of the trade—legal trade used to conceal Endangered African grey parrots on commercial flights