Conservation Education and the Commercial Trade in Bushmeat

Hunting wild animal species (‘bushmeat’) for consumption has long been part of life in rural villages in Central Africa. However, the increase in human population together with more effective ways of killing wildlife than traditional methods have resulted in the development of an unsustainable commercial market in bushmeat to supply the larger towns and cities.

The issues with this unsustainable trade are increasingly discussed in conservation circles, and the health ramifications of the practices are progressively being brought to light as we begin to understand the complex relationship between diseases in humans and animals. Until 2006, CRES was actively involved in monitoring bushmeat markets in rural Bakossiland, in southwestern Cameroon, and found that in a relatively small area a significant number of primate species were being hunted, illegally and unsustainably, but that the majority of the bushmeat being sold was either rodents (particularly porcupines) or small antelope (specifically blue duikers).

More recently, CRES has changed tack in the Ebo forest region of Cameroon by investing time and effort in individual hunters and their families in the 19 villages surrounding the forest. Now, more than 10 ex-hunters are employed who now conduct research and conservation on the animals they previously would have hunted. Intensive education programs are conducted in the major villages, working both with schoolchildren and their parents, and a program was established to bring the most prolific hunters to the Limbe Wildlife Centre for educational workshops. Few hunters understand the science behind the loss of certain species from forests in Cameroon and have little idea of the viable alternatives for income generation as must now be practiced elsewhere in Cameroon where species have already disappeared.

While changes have been seen in the villages where CRES works, staff does not pretend to have solved this complex issue, not least because the efficacy of such education programs will only be confirmed when species are increasing in abundance, which in many long-lived species will take years to confirm. It is believed, however, that by building relationships with hunters and their communities change can be effected, even if that means short-term changes, such as avoiding hunting certain species, like the slow-breeding primates, and encouraging community responsibility for the forest and its animals by regulating the actions of individual hunters.

News archives: CRES Researcher Conducts Education Workshop for African Hunters in Effort to Curb Bushmeat Crisis
Teaching Conservation Research to Students: Forensic Barcoding of Bushmeat
Collaboration Seeks to Reduce Illegal Bushmeat Trade through Use of Barcodes