Whenever there is an outbreak of a new infectious disease, such as the current Covid-19 pandemic, we are quick to identify the animal or species that hosted the virus.  However, we pay little attention to the role people who deal in illegal wildlife products play in causing the "species jump" and spreading Zoonotic diseases. Poachers illegally hunt in national parks, game management areas and private game farms. As a result, they are always fearful of being spotted by someone or being caught by village scouts or wildlife police officers. This means they have to do their business in a hurry, ignoring safety measures. Tracking, capturing, handling, sometimes basic field butchering, and transporting of the carcass involves contact with potentially infected meat. Butchering (opening, cutting, dressing, and preparing the carcass) is obviously high risk for bloodborne pathogens. "Poachers are the first contact of wildlife associated zoonotic diseases, as they mostly butcher the animals in the most inhumane manner, exposing themselves to infectious agents", says Dr. Jackson Katampi, who is Senior Veterinary Officer at the Department of National Parks and Wildlife – DNPW. "Once they return to their communities, they become carriers and might transmit the pathogens to susceptible individuals", he adds.