Why does Trump hate pangolins?!?
Why does Trump want epidemics?!?
The despicable media — in this case, the Guardian — blame Trump.
h/t Tami on A♠

Pandemic shines harsh light on Trump’s failure to protect pangolins

For more than five years, wildlife conservationists in the US have been clamoring for the government to provide Endangered Species Act protections to pangolins, a group of imperiled ant-eating mammals that are widely, and often illicitly, trafficked for their scales and meat. The Trump administration, however, has refused to act and that refusal has suddenly taken on grave new implications.

Earlier this year, scientists in China identified pangolins, along with bats, as one of the possible animal hosts involved in the transmission of the deadly coronavirus from wildlife to humans.…

The Trump administration also wants to cut more than $300m from programs run by the state department and USAid that promote habitat conservation and combat wildlife trafficking in Asia, Africa and elsewhere, according to a February report from the US Global Leadership Coalition. In light of threats such as Covid-19 and the climate crisis, the report asserts, the administration’s proposed cuts are “out of touch with America’s interests”.

Covid-19, scientists and advocates argue, has proven that this is not a time to reduce the US’s commitments to protecting and restoring the world’s ailing animal populations.…

Hmmm. Call me cynical, but maybe preserving the animal that carries a bunch of dangerous viruses isn’t the right course?