Wildlife and protected areas management

Bushmeat

Introduction

There is no set definition of bushmeat. It is a broad term meaning meat from wild animal species. But for some authors "bushmeat" refers to illegally harvested wild species, while legally harvested animals are referred to as "wild meat". In some African countries it is called "game meat". Bushmeat can be any animal species, rodents, pigs, antelopes and primates.
Some people think that the term bushmeat should be changed to terms which reflect the origin of the meat, so that hunting practices and policy can be adjusted to the specific circumstances under which the meat was obtained.

- There is meat that originates from abundant species, such as the grasscutter, which are usually generalist species that can survive in many different habitats, and are often hunted by farmers while at their farms.
-Meat is also derived from animals that are culled merely because there are too many individuals in a population, causing conflicts with humans. In some countries, elephants and other species are shot for this reason and the meat is sold as bushmeat.
-In some cultures, meat from a particular species is consumed, because it is believed to have medicinal properties, for example to increase fertility. The meat is not consumed on a very large scale, but merely on special occasions, or in special situations.
-Sometimes rare species such as chimpanzee are hunted. When considering policy, it is essential to make the distinction between meat derived from abundant species and from species that are rare and endangered. While some species are not over-hunted yet, other species have almost gone extinct and should be protected by law.
-There is also bushmeat which is derived from domesticated wildlife species, such as ostrich.

A man with a grasscutter on the back of his bike, on his way to the village.

Unsustainable bushmeat consumption

In many African countries the production of protein products such as meat, eggs and milk, or fish is not enough. Besides that, rural people often prefer to eat the more readily available bushmeat. Bushmeat is sometimes cheaper then other protein products, and people prefer the taste of it, or believe the meat is more healthy, or even has medicinal properies.

Animals are being hunted with modern methods such as rifles and poison. In this way, many and any animals can be caught, also those animals which may be endangered. Due to human population growth and long-term over-exploitation of wildlife populations, many species are now liable to go extinct.
In the past, people would hunt as much as they needed to eat themselves, and sell just a little of the meat, to pay for school fees for example. Nowadays, the demand for bushmeat in the cities is high, and hunters have to go further away from cities to communities in rural areas in order to find animals. As a consequence, little wild animals are left for people to hunt in these communities.
Before, professional hunter associations would regulate how much bushmeat each hunter could hunt, and when. Today, these associations often do not exist any more, and hunters are paid by people in the city to take as much bushmeat as possible from rural areas. Many countries do have laws which state when the hunting season is closed, so that animals can breed, or which animals can be hunted and which not. However, it is very difficult to check whether these laws are respected, and because the demand from the cities for bushmeat is high, these laws are often ignored.
The hunting and consumption of bushmeat, especially primates, could cause diseases such as Ebola amongst humans, and can also lead to new viral diseases if viruses infecting primates cross over to human hosts. Besides that, hunting sometimes takes place by using poison, and the ways of processing and transporting of the meat could also lead to unhealthy circumstances.

The unsustainable harvest, large-scale commercial trade and consequent depletion of wildlife is a threat to the food security and future livelihoods of people. The risk of zoonotic diseases to public health is high; the use of poison and insanitary processing and transporting methods can also pose health risks. Indiscriminate hunting methods, the breakdown of traditional regulating structures and the ignorance of legislation regarding hunting has led to situations where animals are rare, locally extinct, or on the verge of global extinction. Not only is this severe from a conservation perspective, disappearance of wildlife could also lead to the collapse of ecological functions in the natural environment. That is why many call the bushmeat situation a crisis. If things do not change rapidly, this could have severe consequences for humans and for wildlife.

Bushmeat being sold and bought in the market.

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A man offering a porcupine for sale at the road side.

Grasscutter farmers at a meeting.

Meetings and events

Below is a list of FAO supported meetings and events related to bushmeat and the domestication of wildlife species.