Fur farming a ‘viral highway’ that could spark next pandemic, say scientists
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Foxes and raccoons are farmed for their fur. Chinese farms produced 26.16 million such pelts in 2016. Credit: Sylvain Cordier/Hemis via Alamy
Infectious-diseases researchers are calling for stricter biosafety measures in farms that breed animals for fur, to stop dangerous pathogens from jumping from animals to people.
Fur farms can be a bridge between people and the viruses circulating in wildlife, says Eddie Holmes, a virologist at the University of Sydney, Australia. “This is how pandemics happen.”
The warnings come off the back of one of the largest studies1 of viruses harboured by fur animals in China. The team, which included Holmes, found a broad array of viruses — including new pathogens and known ones found in new hosts. The study was published in Nature on Wednesday.
Researchers have long suspected that these animals are a reservoir of viruses that can jump to people, says Alice Hughes, a conservation biologist at the University of Hong Kong. The analysis “highlights that these concerns are valid, and that the diversity of viruses with known risks to humans is even greater than was realized”. Hughes says the industry should mandate transitioning to artificial fur.
