The outbreak of coronavirus in Wuhan, China, has cast a harsh light on wildlife markets. Huanan Seafood Market, which offers an apalling variety of live and freshly slaughtered animals, is suspected to be the pandemic's Ground Zero. In addition to seafood, the meat of 30 terrestrial animal species is available there, including pangolins, civets, squirrels, pheasants, scorpions, snakes and a variety of rats. Such markets not only spread diseases: by selling poached, endangered animals such as pangolins, the trade is driving species toward extinction.

Hunting and the wildlife trade, like climate change and habitat destruction, are among the causes of a looming mass extinction, as a 2019 UN report warned. Up to one million animal and plant species could soon vanish forever. Some forests are already deemed "empty" in the wake of rampant hunting and poaching. In October, China is due to host a UN conference on the Convention on Biological Diversity, where representatives of nearly 200 countries will seek ways to stop the mass extinction - now is the time to push for a worldwide ban on the wildlife trade.