Pets and Pestilence

Infectious diseases and parasites carried by humans and domestic animals can have devastating effects on wild populations, writes John Bonner

The Biologist Vol 60(5) p14-17

Habitat loss, climate change, invasive species and overhunting are the four horsemen of the apocalypse for biodiversity – the factors that can drive a wildlife species to extinction. Pestilence – one of the original biblical quartet – is rarely mentioned as a serious threat. But among conservation biologists there is a growing appreciation of the dangers posed by infectious diseases to vulnerable species with small, fragmented populations...

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