Researchers believe the spread of COVID-19 originated at a “wet market,” or live animal market, in Wuhan, China and now Sir Paul McCartney is calling on the government of China to put a stop to these markets.
Live and dead animals are sold as food and for alleged medicinal purposes, including exotic and endangered wildlife, as well as cats and dogs, which are slowly barbecued to death right on the spot, because it's believed the meat will taste better that way.
McCartney said on Howard Stern's Sirius XM radio show on Tuesday, "They might as well be, you know, letting off atomic bombs because this is affecting the whole world. Whoever is responsible for this is at war with the world and itself; it just doesn't make sense -- any sense at all."
He said that putting a stop to the markets would be "a very good idea for them, not just us. They don't need all of the people dying. And what's it for? These quite medieval practices. They just need to clean up their act."
McCartney is not the only one speaking up about this. A number of health organizations around the world are asking China to close these markets, where so many viruses are believed to have originated, including swine and avian flu, in addition to the coronavirus. Many markets in China stopped selling live poultry after widespread avian flu outbreaks that killed millions around the world.
More than 60 U.S. lawmakers have asked for a global ban on the markets. Animal welfare groups are also pleading for a stop to the markets, which are also known as "live wildlife markets."
Wuhan South China Seafood Market, which was suspected to be the primary source for spreading COVID-19 during late 2019, was closed on January 1, 2020, but it was already too late to stop the disease from spreading around the world. ~Alexandra Heilbron
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