When animals are stressed, whether it's in captive conditions or in the wild, and when we encroach on their habitats, they are being forced to interact with each other, which might not have happened before. They come into situations where the disease pressures are rising and they come more in contact with people. That's where that interface happens, so when we don't protect their natural habitats, when we encroach on them it increases the risk of pandemics and of zoonotic diseases' emergence and their spread.
On October 18th, 2023. See this statement in context.