March 24, 2020 The Honorable Mitch McConnell Majority Leader United States Senate Washington, D.C. 20510 The Honorable Nancy Pelosi Speaker of the House United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 The Honorable Chuck Schumer Minority Leader United States Senate Washington D.C. 20510 The Honorable Kevin McCarthy Minority Leader United States House of Representatives Washington, D.C. 20515 Dear Leader McConnell, Speaker Pelosi, Leader Schumer, Leader McCarthy, As you begin to consider additional larger stimulus packages for the U.S. economy to help individual Americans, small businesses, and others deal with the consequences of the deadly coronavirus, or COVID-19, we urge you to also consider the root causes of this emerging zoonotic virus and others like it — the trade of wildlife and habitat destruction in the United States and around the world. Clearly, we hope that any stimulus package puts the needs of ordinary people first and foremost. The impacts of the coronavirus pandemic are being felt now and will continue in unforeseen ways for months and possibly years to come. Legislative provisions that bailout corporations and reward corporate executives are morally wrong and should not be included. Strong labor protections and direct payroll assistance to workers are critical, as is requiring employers to honor existing commitments for health care, pensions and other vital assistance. Furthermore, we ask that Congress use this opportunity to address the root causes of the problem. Scientists estimate that 60% of known infectious diseases in people can be transmitted from animals, and 75% of emerging infectious diseases originate in wildlife.1 Emerging zoonotic diseases have quadrupled in the last 50 years, mostly in tropical regions. Like the 2003 SARS epidemic and Ebola, COVID-19 is just the latest zoonotic disease to emerge that has its roots in the rampant habitat loss occurring around the world and the burgeoning wildlife trade. Global pandemics will likely continue and even escalate if action isn’t taken. This Congress has the opportunity to not only address the crisis but reestablish the United States as a global leader in wildlife conservation and the protection of habitat. Following the 2008 financial crisis, Congress worked to strengthen the economy and reform key regulatory safeguards to prevent similar crises in the future. The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act provided funding across the federal government — including for our environment, public lands and wildlife — to boost the economy. While the coronavirus pandemic is a far different type of crisis, we hope that Congress will act to make these types of pandemics less likely in the future. 1 See, Centers for Disease Control. Zoonotic Diseases https://www.cdc.gov/onehealth/basics/zoonotic-diseases.html Thus, we request that 1% of the total funds in future stimulus packages address habitat loss, legal and illegal wildlife trade, and the protection of biological diversity here and around the world. Adding law enforcement staff, inspectors at our ports of entry, and building global capacity to address the extinction crisis are all needed if we hope to make future pandemics less likely to occur in the first place. The current pandemic is not only a public health and economic crisis but a conservation crisis as well. It is a sobering demonstration of the consequences of the natural world unraveling. We hope that Congress invests what is needed to help combat this pandemic and reflect on the lessons learned to help avert future catastrophes. Sincerely, Center for Biological Diversity Advocates for Snake Preservation Amazon Watch Animal Legal Defense Fund Animals & Society Institute Animals Are Sentient Beings, Inc. Animas Valley Institute Association for the Study of Literature and the Environment Basin and Range Watch Berkshire Environmental Action Team (BEAT) Beyond Nuclear Big Blackfoot Riverkeeper, Inc. Black Warrior Riverkeeper Boulder Rights of Nature, Inc. California Wildlife Foundation Center for Large Landscape Conservation Central Savannah River Land Trust Certified Naturally Grown Christian Council of Delmarva Ciudadanos Del Karso Coast Range Association Conservation Congress Conservation Council For Hawaii Conservation Law Foundation Diversity Inventory Group Eastern Coyote/Coywolf Research Eco-Eating Endangered small animal Conservation fund Endangered Species Coalition Environmental Protection Information Center (EPIC) Food Democracy Now! Footloose Montana Foundation Earth Friends For Environmental Justice Friends of Animals Friends of Blackwater, Inc. Friends of the WI Wolf & Wildlife Fund for Wild Nature GARDEN, Inc. Geos Institute Gila Resources Information Project Global Justice Ecology Project Golden Gate Raptor Observatory Grand Canyon Trust Great Lakes Wildlife Alliance Great Old Broads for Wilderness Greater Hells Canyon Council GreenFaith Greenpeace USA inNative Kentucky Waterways Alliance Kickapoo Peace Circle Kiesha's Preserve LEGACY - The Landscape Connection Maricopa Audubon Society Maryland Ornithological Society Montgomery Bird Club Inc. National Wolfwatcher Coalition Network for Environmental & Economic Responsibility New Mexico Audubon Council New Mexico Interfaith Power and Light Northeast Oregon Ecosystems Northern Jaguar Project Northwest Environmental Advocates Ocean Preservation Society Oregon Wild Predator Defense Project Coyote Public Lands Project PureForm Global, Inc. Raptors Are The Solution Save Our Sky Blue Waters Save The Colorado SAVE THE FROGS! Save the Manatee Club Save the Pine Bush Sequoia ForestKeeper® Seventh Generation Advisors Sheep Mountain Alliance Social Justice Commission (Episcopal Diocese of Western Massachusetts) Southwest Environmental Center Speak Up For Wildlife Foundation Texas Drought Project The Cloud Foundation The Conservation Angler The Habitat Institute The Interfaith Council for the Protection of Animals & Nature The Lands Council Tuolumne River Trust Turtle Island Restoration Network Upper Peninsula Environmental Coalition Utah Native Plant Society Ventana Wilderness Alliance Western Environmental Law Center Western Watersheds Project Western Nebraska Resources Council WILD Foundation Wild Horse Education Wild Nature Institute Wild Virginia WildEarth Guardians Wildlife Rescue & Rehabilitation WildWest Institute www.All-Creatures.org Xun Biosphere Project Yellowstone to Unitas Connection