Growing evidence shows a rapid rise in chronic non-communicable diseases across pets, livestock, wildlife, and aquaculture populations. This is according to a study published on 11 November 2025 in Risk Analysis by biologist Antonia Mataragka. The findings specifically underscore how factors like environmental pressures, genetic vulnerabilities, and human-driven ecological change converge to reshape global animal health.
There is a Growing Animal Health Emergency Driven by Human Alteration of Ecosystems
A silent epidemic is sweeping across the animal world, and a biologist contends the phenomenon mirrors the chronic disease crisis humans have faced for decades. A new risk-assessment model released offers the first integrated view of how environmental disruption and biological vulnerability collide to reshape global animal health.
Emerging Health Crisis in the Animal World
Mataragka focused on chronic diseases that develop slowly and persist for long periods. These include obesity, diabetes, cancer, and degenerative joint conditions. Note that these conditions have increased dramatically in domestic and wild species during the past 2 decades. This mirrors the long-established trends in human public health systems worldwide.
Her study drew from veterinary surveys, ecological monitoring records, toxicology reports, and longitudinal wildlife datasets collected between 2005 and 2025. These relevant sources revealed consistent patterns across animal species living in urban, agricultural, marine, and freshwater environments where exposure to pollutants and stressors has intensified.
Mataragka developed an integrated assessment model that combines One Health and Ecohealth frameworks. It maps biological susceptibility, environmental exposure, and ecological disruption. This allows risk evaluation across entire systems rather than isolated populations to provide early warning signals for developing chronic disease trends across communities.
Uncovering the Drivers of Chronic Disease
• Rapid Growth of Chronic Disease Prevalence
Rates of overweight conditions reached 50 to 60 percent among domestic cats and dogs, osteoarthritis affected about 20 percent of intensively reared pigs, and liver tumors reached 15 to 25 percent in wildlife animals inhabiting chemically polluted estuaries with long-term industrial discharge.
• Genetic Susceptibility Intensified by Breeding Practices
Selective breeding for appearance in animals kept as pets and productivity in livestock animals has increased susceptibility to metabolic and cardiac disorders. These hereditary patterns highlight how long-term breeding decisions can unintentionally elevate chronic disease risks across entire lineages.
• Environmental and Lifestyle Pressures
Exposure to polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, polychlorinated biphenyls, heat stress, nutritional imbalance, and low activity levels contributed strongly to disease progression. Marine animals had higher tumor rates in regions with warming water and degraded coral structures that limited recovery from cellular damage.
• Acceleration from Human-Driven Ecological Change
Further urban expansion, habitat conversion, climate disruption, and biodiversity loss have amplified exposure to harmful agents. Air pollution and chemical runoff upset endocrine and immune function in multiple species. Altered habitats reduced access to varied diets and natural movement patterns.
• Major Gaps in Diagnostic and Surveillance Systems
Additional findings showed that most regions lacked standardized chronic disease monitoring for animals. Limited early detection systems meant that many conditions were identified only at advanced stages. This is hindering effective treatment and slowing the development of credible long-term health databases.
Global Consequences of Rising Animal Disease
The findings suggest that chronic diseases in animals represent an emerging global health crisis that parallels human chronic disease patterns. Rising prevalence across domesticated and wild animal species indicates that environmental pressures now influence biological systems in ways that cross traditional ecological boundaries and management strategies.
Significant consequences for food security, ecosystem stability, and veterinary care have also been highlighted. Livestock health declines can disrupt production systems. Chronic disease in wildlife can disrupt population dynamics. These shifts may weaken ecosystem services such as pollination, fisheries renewal, and nutrient cycling across multiple environments.
Mataragka notes the need for coordinated policies that will fund integrated surveillance, regulate pollution sources, improve breeding strategies, and support habitat restoration. Her study argues that preventive action taken during the next decade will determine whether chronic animal diseases continue escalating or can be managed through evidence-based planning.
Note that the proposed model combines biological, environmental, and ecological data into a single analytical structure that supports coordinated surveillance across animal, human, and ecosystem systems. This integrated framework creates shared indicators that reveal emerging chronic disease pressures early enough for preventive interventions before risks escalate.
FURTHER READING AND REFERENCE
- Mataragka, A. 2025. “Beyond Infections: The Growing Crisis of Chronic Disease in Animals.” Risk Analysis. https://doi.org/10.1111/risa.70130