Science February 16, 2023
According to a team of researchers in the US (Harvard University, New York University) more zoonotic diseases originated in the United States than in any other country during the second half of the 20th century. Of the many agencies that govern food animal production, the US Department of Agriculture is the most important, but even it has no authority to regulate on-farm animal production. Each year, the US consumes an estimated 1 billion pounds of “game” . Yet, most hunter-harvested meat is not inspected, and no sanitary measures are required. The US is the largest importer of wildlife in the world. More than 200 million live wild animals enter the US each year, most undergoing no health and safety checks when they arrive. According to the researchers a regulatory system in urgent need of reconstruction, a fundamental restructuring of the way that human–animal interfaces are governed are needed. The first step in implementing such an approach would be to create a high-level process for integrating the broken mosaic of multiple agencies, with their unclear and sometimes competing mandates, into an effective, comprehensive regime. The US is still very far from taking such decisive action, or even recognizing its responsibility in generating these global risks… Open Access TECHNICAL ARTICLE