Zoonosis, Epidemic and Climate Change

Abstract

Epidemics have accompanied humanity throughout its history and have received various explanations. In classical Greece they were attributed to the troubles between the gods; Judeo-Christianity attributed them to the sins of humanity. Today science gives clear explanations, but humanity does not act accordingly. The problem is that pandemics are the only events that surpass wars in losses, and among them, 70 % are due to zoonoses: this indicates that we must relate in another way with animals. If we add to this that our treatment of them has resulted in the acceleration of climate change, of all our ethical obligations, changing our behavior towards animals is the most urgent. Beyond compassion, there is an urgent need for different treatment for all sentient beings.