Much can be learned from the current Covid-19 pandemic,\nespecially the link between human health and animal as well as the environment.\nCurrently, awareness of the importance of treating animals is well-existed.\nLaws and regulations have been enacted to protect animals. Various\norganizations that specifically aim to protect animal rights have also existed.\nHowever, in the current pandemic situation, it not only deals with the\ntreatment of animals but involves a broader issue of animal interests to humans\nand nature.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Animals are important creatures in this universe. Human\ndepends on the animal as a source of food, companions, in various economic\nactivities and as transportation. An animal also essential part of our\necosystems and therefore, nature could not function properly without animals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Apart from that, animals are potentially the cause of\nvarious zoonotic diseases. The WHO and FAO Joint Expert Committee define\nzoonosis as diseases and infections that are transmitted between animals and\nhumans. There are more than 500 different zoonosis pathogens such as viruses,\nbacteria, fungi, protozoa, parasites of various cells and insects. It infects\nhumans and spreads through direct contact or by food, water or the environment.\nHowever, infectious diseases transfer from animals to humans are rare.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The diversity of human activities has increased the\nfrequency of disease transmission from animals to humans. In a report by UNEP\nand ILRI (2020) entitled \u201cPreventing the Next Pandemic: Zoonotic Diseases and\nHow to Break the Chain of Transmission,\u201d two most important activities that\ninfluence the emergence of new zoonosis are habitat and biodiversity\ndestruction and wildlife exploitation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Loss of habitat and biodiversity is the result of\ndeforestation, changes in land use and forest degradation. The FAO Global\nForest Assessment 2020 reports that the rate of deforestation is occurring at\n10 million hectares per year. It is due to the rapid population growth that\nforced human encroachment on natural habitats. Thus, humans and wildlife became\ncloser. In the Tropics, deforestation is associated with an increase in various\ninfectious diseases such as dengue fever, malaria and jaundice. In Australia,\nmosquito-borne diseases increased due to land-use changes while forest\nfragmentation has increased the risk of human contracting Lyme disease.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The exploitation of wildlife has exposed humans to\nvarious infectious diseases. The wildlife is exploited for food, medicine,\ndecoration and even recreational purposes. A study of 8000 rural households in\n24 countries including Africa, Latin America and Asia showed that 39 per cent\nof households hunt and eat wild meat. Among the wildlife are large herbivorous\nanimals, primates, rodents, snakes and various other reptiles. Aquatic wildlife\nof mammals and reptiles such as dolphins, whales, manatees, crocodiles and\nturtles are also caught. These wild animals were caught and traded for food, as\npets or for medical purposes. Clashes between humans and wildlife could lead to\nnew viruses transferred from animals to humans because the viruses are capable\nof infecting various species of hosts. There are also situations where wildlife\nis farmed for commercial purposes on unregulated farms as well as in filthy\nconditions. Such conditions too could lead to an animal to human viruses\ntransferred.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are many more anthropogenic drivers that encourage\nthe emergence of zoonotic diseases such as increased demand for animal protein,\nunsustainable use of natural resources due to urbanization, land-use changes,\nincreased travel and transportation activities, changes in the food supply\nchain as well as climate change.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The above discussion shows that in the name of\ndevelopment, human has invaded the life and wellbeing of animals. Animals were\nseen as insignificant creatures on earth. However, in Islam, animals are not\nmerely a source of human food, but a creature that depends on its Creator. They\nhave their own life and have values to Allah SWT and this goes beyond the value\nof animals to humans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the Qur\u2019an, various chapters were named after animals\nor insects, and mentioned in various verses of the Qur\u2019an. For example, the\nstory of ants and prophet Sulaiman or the whales and prophet Yunus. This\ndemonstrates the high values of animals in Islam. Humans, however, are given\ncertain powers over animals (al-Baqarah, 2:29; Yaasin, 36:72) but not to the\nextent of exploiting animals but to safeguard their welfare (Hud, 11:64;\nasy-Syu\u2019araa, 26:155-156). In Islam, animal abuse is completely rejected while\nillegal hunting or hunting animals for recreational purposes are also\nforbidden.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Islam has also specified halal and haram animals for\nhuman consumption. If we adhere to the rule or refrain from consuming haram\nmeat, we will abstain from eating or hunting exotic animals, which also host to\nvarious viruses and diseases. There must be some wisdom behind the prohibition\nof eating haram meat. Exotic animals are most likely a host to various types of\nviruses and bacteria, which is why Islam forbids consuming them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
We must follow\nthe Islamic teaching on kindness to animals and treat animals<\/em> with\ncompassion. Concurrently, we must also care for our natural environment because\nanimals depend on it too. By doing this, we hope to avoid further animal to human\ntransmission diseases and future pandemic.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Much can be learned from the current Covid-19 pandemic, especially the link between human health and animal as well as the environment. Currently, awareness of the importance of treating animals is well-existed. Laws and regulations have been enacted to protect animals. Various …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":17,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_analytify_skip_tracking":false,"_wpzoom_pinterest_image_url":"","_wpzoom_pinterest_hidden_image":"0","_wpzoom_pinterest_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[139],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-28637","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-new-straits-times","category-139","description-off"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28637","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/17"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=28637"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28637\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28637"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28637"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ikim.gov.my\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28637"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}