"The Independent" is calling for a joint effort to create stricter international restrictions on the wildlife trade in order to limit potential future pandemics.

The connection between the wildlife trade and threats to human health has been proven and, as we can see at present, can cause problems on an international scale.

The pandemic outbreak originated in a market in Wuhan, China, where trade in wild animals is very active and where the virus "jumped" (transmitted) from animal to human. At the Wuhan market, contact between animals and humans is quite close.

This is undoubtedly an international problem: a study conducted last year concluded that one in five vertebrates is sold as a pet or as a source of raw materials in many different countries around the globe. This puts approximately 9,000 species at risk.