**1. Impact of Bushmeat Trade:**
– Bushmeat is a term for wildlife species hunted for human consumption.
– Over 1,000 animal species globally are affected by bushmeat hunting.
– The volume of bushmeat trade in West and Central Africa is 1-5 million tonnes annually.
– 301 mammal species are threatened by hunting for bushmeat.
– Logging concessions are closely linked to the bushmeat trade.
**2. Health Implications and Nutrition:**
– Bushmeat can be a significant source of essential nutrients.
– Consuming bushmeat can reduce the risk of anemia and chronic conditions.
– Diets with bushmeat contain more iron, zinc, and vitamin C.
– Micronutrients and macronutrients in bushmeat contribute to overall nutrition.
– Parasites found in bushmeat pose health risks associated with consumption.
**3. Disease Transmission:**
– Wild chimpanzees in Cameroon are naturally infected with simian foamy virus, a precursor of HIV-1.
– HIV likely transferred to humans through contact with infected bushmeat.
– Ebola outbreaks in Africa have been linked to bushmeat consumption.
– Bushmeat primates in Cameroon are infected with various parasites.
– Zoonotic diseases are a significant concern related to the bushmeat trade.
**4. Conservation and Management:**
– Suggestions to reduce bushmeat harvest include providing alternative protein sources.
– Devolving wildlife rights to local communities can help manage bushmeat consumption.
– Strengthening protected areas and enforcing wildlife conservation laws are crucial.
– Captive breeding of wild species can offer an alternative to bushmeat.
– Conservation efforts are needed to address the impact of bushmeat hunting on wildlife populations.
**5. Research and Scientific Contributions:**
– Studies have been conducted in various African countries on bushmeat hunting.
– Research focuses on the decline of ape populations due to hunting.
– Investigations into the distribution and status of small carnivores in certain regions.
– Tracking the global expansion and evolution of diseases like HIV and Ebola.
– Identifying wildlife reservoirs and their role in disease transmission.
Bushmeat is meat from wildlife species that are hunted for human consumption. Bushmeat represents a primary source of animal protein and a cash-earning commodity in poor and rural communities of humid tropical forest regions of the world.
 Bushmeat seen on the roadside in Ghana: includes cane rat, giant pouched rat, and red-flanked duiker. | |
| Alternative names | Wild meat, wild game |
|---|---|
| Main ingredients | Wildlife |
The numbers of animals killed and traded as bushmeat in the 1990s in West and Central Africa were thought to be unsustainable. By 2005, commercial harvesting and trading of bushmeat was considered a threat to biodiversity. As of 2016, 301 terrestrial mammals were threatened with extinction due to hunting for bushmeat including non-human primates, even-toed ungulates, bats, diprotodont marsupials, rodents and carnivores occurring in developing countries.
Bushmeat provides increased opportunity for transmission of several zoonotic viruses from animal hosts to humans, such as Ebolavirus and HIV.