On Tuesday (May 12), animal rights organization PETA issued a statement in reaction to Bryan Adams‘ comments regarding the coronavirus pandemic and the global meat trade.
“Bryan Adams echoes the frustrations of millions of people who are outraged that the violent meat trade has once again been allowed to devastate human health,” PETA senior vp Dan Mathews said in a statement. “‘Wet markets’ and disease-ridden slaughterhouses around the world are superhighways for contagion and must be closed now.
“Despite conspiracy theories, credible experts such as Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Jane Goodall, the World Health Organization, and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have repeatedly warned about the hazards to human health when animals are captured, confined, and killed,” he continued. “Humans brought this pandemic upon themselves through their addiction to meat, and the surest way to prevent future outbreaks is to stop supporting slaughter by going vegan.”
PETA’s statement comes in response to the rocker’s controversial Instagram post on Monday (May 11), in which he blamed the coronavirus outbreak on “some f–king bat eating, wet market animal selling, virus making greedy bastards” and faced accusations of racism following his rant.
(Adams’ tweet about the pandemic has since been deleted, though his Instagram post is still up as of press time. Billboard has also reached out Adams’ rep for comment.)