Overview

In June 2020, the Program embarked on an ambitious project studying policy responses to live animal markets, which have been identified as sites that facilitate the transmission of zoonotic diseases such as avian influenza, Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), and COVID-19. These markets and the supply chains that support them are the source of many types of high-risk human-animal and animal-animal interactions. Animal markets exist throughout the world, including in the United States. The project aims to provide a comprehensive assessment that will aid policymakers considering regulatory decisions, contribute to public education about these issues, and serve the human health and animal protection NGO communities. It will include individual country case studies conducted by international partner institutions.

Former Animal Law & Policy Fellow Ann Linder has returned to serve as the Research Fellow managing the project, which will culminate in a substantial published report in early 2021. The project is being supported by generous funding from the Brooks Animal Studies Academic Network (BASAN).

Collaborating partners include:

  • New York University’s Center for Environmental and Animal Protection (United States)
  • Federal University of Bahia (Brazil)
  • Lewis & Clark Law School’s Center for Animal Law Studies (United States)
  • National Academy of Legal Studies & Research (India)
  • University of Denver’s Sturm College of Law (United States)
  • University of Ghana’s College of Health Sciences (Republic of Ghana)
  • University of KwaZulu-Natal (South Africa)
  • Universidad del Pacífico’s Environmental Management Clinic (Peru)
  • University of Toronto Faculty of Law (Canada)
  • University of Victoria Faculty of Law (New Zealand)
  • Vietnam One Health University Network (Vietnam)
  • Yale Law School’s Law, Ethics & Animals Program (United States)
  • Zhongnan University of Economics and Law (Wuhan, China)

US Report:

As part of this broader project, ALPP and NYU released a report on Animal Markets & Zoonotic Disease in the U.S. in July 2023, which analyzed 36 different animal industries, including fur-farming, the exotic pet trade, hunting and trapping, industrial animal agriculture, backyard chicken production, roadside zoos, and more, to assess the risks each poses of generating a large-scale disease outbreak. The report launched in an exclusive with The New York Times and continues to be cited.