Complex crisis

The Illegal bushmeat trade threatens wild chimpanzees

The commercial bushmeat trade (or illegal hunting of wild animals) is the most  immediate threat to the future of wildlife populations in Africa today, and could well lead to the loss of many wild species in the next 20 years, including chimpanzees. The number of bushmeat consumers has increase by eight-fold since 1900, and now represents an equally important conservation concern as growing global population and resource consumption.

Bushmeat has long been a staple part of forest peoples' diet, and until recently, the hunting of wild animals for food was a sustainable practice. The trade in bushmeat has now become a profitable business for forest dwellers, who often lack alternative options for income generation.

The rapidly growing timber industry has been a major factor in fuelling and facilitating the bushmeat trade. Logging companies cut roads into previously inaccessible forests, and also provide the transportation needed to link hunting grounds and markets. Even where prohibited by company policy, logging truck drivers routinely carry loads of up to 200 kg of bushmeat, including gorillas and chimpanzees, in return for easy payments.

The lack of capacity to enforce or legitimize existing laws, and the unrestricted ability for anyone to enter the commercial bushmeat trade, are now the driving factors threatening wildlife and biodiversity conservation across West and Central Africa. Combined with rising demand for meat from urban dwellers, lack of alternative options for income generation, absence of protein substitutes, and opening of old growth forests, the commercial bushmeat trade is a conservation crisis that can only be addressed through a unified effort between all the stakeholders.
 

The Chimpanzee SSP supports the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force and their efforts to address this complex but pressing issue facing chimpanzees in Africa.  Visit the BCTF website to find out more about what you can do to help.