Category: Regulation | Area of Affect: Consumer Protection | Proposed by: Gremenia | Status: Quorum Reached; In Queue |

Quote:RECOGNIZES that wet markets across the globe may partake in the trade of live animals and wild and exotic animals, exposing the world population to dangerous infectious disease.

WORRIES that the trade of live animals and wild and exotic animals in wet markets can spark new global pandemics.

THE WORLD ASSEMBLY:

1. DEFINES: 

a. "wet market" as a marketplace selling fresh meat, fish, produce, and other perishable goods as distinguished from "dry markets" that sell durable goods such as fabrics and electronics.

b. "wild and exotic animals" as products that are derived from non-domesticated animals or plants usually extracted from their natural environment or raised under controlled conditions.

c. "live animals" as all living animals including hatching eggs.

d. "zoonotic diseases (zoonosis)" as an infectious disease caused by a pathogen (an infectious agent, including bacteria, viruses, parasites, prions, etc) that has jumped from non-human animals (usually vertebrates) to humans.

e. "game" as animals like (1) small birds, such as the thrush and quail; (2) game proper, a category that can be subdivided into winged game, such as the goose, duck, woodcock, grouse or partridge, and pheasant; and ground game, such as the squirrel, hare, and rabbit; (3) big game, predominantly venison, including roebuck, deer, elk, moose, and caribou but also including other large animals such as bear and wild boar. 

2. ACKNOWLEDGES: 

a. the existence of wet markets, a majority of which do not trade in live animals and wild or exotic animals and that those markets which do trade in live animals and wild and exotic animals can be linked to outbreaks of zoonotic diseases.

b. illegal wildlife trade is widespread and constitutes one of the major illegal economic activities, comparable to the traffic of drugs and weapons affecting conservation and leading to the emergence and spread of new infectious diseases in humans, including emergent viruses. 

3. PERMITS: 

a. the sale of fish products not deemed endangered or dangerous for human consumption.

b. The sale of vegetables, fruits, or plants not deemed endangered or dangerous for human consumption.

c. The sale of domesticated slaughtered animals deemed safe for human consumption.

d. the sale of slaughtered game, deemed safe for human consumption and not endangered. 

4. PROHIBITS:

 a. the trade of wild and exotic animals, alive or deceased, and any parts of those animals including skins, bones, and meat and other products in wet markets.

b. the trade of live animals in wet markets. 

5. MANDATES: 

a. wet markets do not partake in the trade or sale of live animals and wild and exotic animals, and all products sold are deemed safe for human consumption and are not known to cause zoonotic diseases.

b. wet markets use modern and proper sanitation and food storage methods to minimize the risk of disease.

c. that member nations shall each establish national standards jointly with the World Assembly Commission on which animals and products are deemed safe for sale and human consumption. 

6. ENSURES the health and safety of consumers shall not be compromised at wet markets due to exposure to live animals and wild and exotic animals or due to improper sanitation and food storage.

7. OBLIGES member nations to provide oversight of wet markets and the sale of any products within these markets beyond that exercised by the direct management of these markets.