A newly-unearthed video shows live bats being held in cages at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a fact omitted by the World Health Organization (WHO) report and apparently denied in the past by investigation team member Dr. Peter Daszak.
The video, taken in May 2017 by the Chinese Academy of Sciences, was unearthed by a group of scientists known as DRASTIC, who have been working to investigate the lab-leak theory of COVID-19 origin. The footage from inside the lab shows live bats being held at the facility, including one being fed a worm by a scientist there and another hanging from a worker’s hat.
EXCLUSIVE: The Wuhan Institute of Virology kept live bats in cages, new footage from inside the facility has revealed.
This disproves denials from World Health Organisation investigators like Peter Daszak who claimed the suggestion was a “conspiracy”.https://t.co/XGokKUmWzS
— Sharri Markson (@SharriMarkson) June 13, 2021
The video also details the lab’s security measures that are in place in case of an accident, as well as “intense clashes” between Chinese officials and the French government about the construction of the laboratory and its safety.
A report produced by WHO investigators failed to note that live bats had been held in the facility, stating only that the “animal room in the P4 facility can handle a variety of species.” (RELATED: HHS Sec. Becerra Tells WHO To Bring Back Taiwan, But Won’t Call Out China For Sham COVID-19 Investigation)
Peter Daszak, the sole American member of the WHO’s Chinese-influenced investigation, previously denied that bats were ever held at the WIV. Using his non-profit group EcoHealth Alliance, Daszak funneled millions of dollars in National Institutes of Health grant money to the WIV over the course of several years to conduct bat-based virus research.
This is a widely circulated conspiracy theory. This piece describes work I’m the lead on & labs I’ve collaborated w/ for 15 yrs. They DO NOT have live or dead bats in them. There is no evidence anywhere that this happened. It’s an error that I hope will be corrected.
— Peter Daszak (@PeterDaszak) December 10, 2020
Earlier in June 2020, Daszak seemed to walk back his denial and said the WHO team had not asked Chinese officials if bats were housed at the facility.
You’re right, but also we didn’t ask them if they had bats. I wouldn’t be surprised if, like many other virology labs, they were trying to set up a bat colony. I know it’s happening in labs here and in other countries.
— Peter Daszak (@PeterDaszak) June 1, 2021
Proof that bats were held at the facility grants more credibility to the lab-leak theory, which hypothesizes that COVID-19 was accidentally leaked from the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Critics of the theory typically argue that the virus originated naturally in the Yunnan Province, a 20-hour drive away from the first known outbreak of the virus, which was just miles away from the WIV.