Animal relationships are key to our future

WE should look long and hard at our relations with animals and the social and environmental conditions which allowed the virus to jump species. We need to change the basic way we treat animals and think about them. Who would have thought that a tiny, invisible virus from a bat cave in Asia could bring the world’s economy to its knees and we’d all end up in lockdowns to save the NHS? But that’s where we are.

Until we change how we treat animals, we will continue to be at risk from these “zoonotic viruses” which jump from animals to humans. Prevention is infinitely better than cure! We need to look at this. Bristol is connected to a wider world so what happens elsewhere will impact on us. True also for climate crisis issues.

Alex Gordon Bristol