Live animal food markets carry a great risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases compounded by the lack of safe and regulated hygienic practices. The Huanan South Seafood Market in Wuhan, China which sells wild exotic and domesticated live animals for consumption, was identified to be the epicenter of the COVID-19 pandemic. Bats are implicated to be the reservoir hosts of the virus, as SARS-CoV-2 is 96% genetically identical to bat coronavirus. Pangolins are also a possible host, as the RBD in the S protein show similarity to Pangolin-CoV.

Any infections in animals with COVID-19 should be reported to the World Organization for Animal Health (OIE). The CDC reports that a number of pets worldwide are confirmed positive for COVID-19, though the risk of animal-human transmission in these cases are yet unclear.