Over the past half century, the population of wild animals on the planet has declined by more than two-thirds, a study by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) showed. The reason for this is human activity: excessive consumption, deforestation and invasion of wildlife habitats, intensive fishing and farming.
The authors of the report warn that if people do not reverse the process, the consequences will be very serious. In particular, new diseases similar to Covid-19 will continue to appear - as a result of transmission of viruses from animals to humans.
WWF experts speak of the unprecedented, catastrophic rate of animal loss on the planet and the urgent need to reverse this trend.
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"We are ruining our world, the one place we call home. We are risking our health, safety and survival here on Earth. Now nature is sending us a distress signal out of desperation, and our time is running out," said Tanya Steele, head of WWF.
The decline in the number of animals on the planet clearly proves that human activity is causing enormous damage to nature, experts stress.
"Deforestation and the loss of animal habitat, which occurs because of the way we produce and consume food, is the main reason for the dramatic drop in animal numbers," Fran Price, head of forest research and conservation at WWF, told Reuters.
She said the most severe damage to wildlife is caused by large-scale production of palm oil, soy products and beef in tropical and subtropical countries.
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In 2019, satellite images showed that areas the size of soccer fields in the Amazon forests were being cut down in a minute.
"If nothing changes, populations will no doubt continue to fall, leading to wildlife extinction and a serious threat to the ecosystems on which our lives depend," added Andrew Terry of the Zoological Society of London (ZSL), the organization that worked on the report with WWF.
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