COVID-19 is a newly emerged coronavirus.  SARS and MERS, other recently emerged human coronaviruses, originated in horseshoe bats and passed through other species, such as palm civet and camels.  The definitive source of COVID-19 has still to be determined, but it is also thought to have originated in a bat, and then passed through an intermediate host, possibly a pangolin.  This probably occurred at a wet market in Wuhan, China, where many animal species were kept close together, in unhygienic circumstances.

With the creation of the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace Leadership Institute in 2017, a group of seventeen scholars from numerous academic principles met in California to discuss the historical perspective of the human-dog relationship. The resulting paper develops a broad new multi-disciplinary framework for human-animal-environmental research. “At a time when we are contending with the COVID-19 pandemic and witnessing first-hand the inherent risk of zoonotic disease when we have close contact with another species, it is important to recognize that the human-dog relationship has withstood the test of time and been mutually beneficial”, said Donna Fernandes, Director at the Wallis Annenberg PetSpace.

Social isolation and loneliness are increasing in our society. A survey¹ by the Co-Op and the British Red Cross revealed over 9 million people in the UK of all ages are either always or often lonely. Research by Holt-Lunstad, Smith & Layton² showed that the effect of loneliness and isolation on mortality is comparable to the impact of well-known risk factors such as obesity and has a similar influence as cigarette smoking.

Clifford Warwick PGDip(MedSci) CBiol CSci EurProBiol FRSB
Biologist & Medical Scientist

Think about it: raising a human baby comes with all the support of experienced grandparents, friends, and a highly skilled health service – complete with qualified and regulated advice on everything from getting pregnant to seeing one’s offspring into the wider world. On top of that, nurturing a child is innate – nature’s education perfectly tailored. Does that mean everything will be easy and go well? Certainly not! But when things go wrong, the best of back-ups are on tap to help, whatever the problem.

SCAS are delighted to announce a three-year funding scheme to support research which furthers our understanding of the human-animal bond. The human-animal bond is a mutually beneficial and dynamic relationship between people and animals that is influenced by behaviours that are essential to the health and wellbeing of both. This includes, but is not limited to, emotional, psychological, and physical interactions of people, animals, and the environment.