BUSH MEAT CONSUMPTION IN NIGERIA: CONSUMER PERCEPTIONS AND AUTHENTICITY CONCERNS

Acceptability of Bush Meat as a Source of Animal Protein in Delta State, Nigeria: Implication for Extension Services

Bushmeat hunting and consumption, which involves utilising wild animals for food, is a key challenge for conservation. These practices, if undertaken unsustainably, can result in the generalised decline of wild animals, and consequently have large ecological effects such as trophic cascades and loss of ecosystem services. However, bushmeat also provides an important source of both protein and income to millions of people around the world. Therefore, managing these practices is extremely challenging, given the multiple (and often contradictory) perspectives and motivations of different stakeholders. The majority of research, policy and public attention on this issue has focussed on tropical forests, despite increasing evidence that bushmeat hunting and consumption pose a substantial threat to wildlife in other ecosystems as well, including savannahs. Key gaps in knowledge exist in regions outside of the tropical forests of Africa, including a lack of robust estimates of prevalence, a detailed understanding of drivers and motivations, and an understanding of which interventions to implement to reduce illegal hunting and consumption to sustainable levels. Decision-making in these contexts is also challenging, given limited information and the complexity of the social-ecological systems. Without adequate scientific evidence, it is difficult to achieve conservation outcomes while also ensuring that communities are able to benefit from wildlife. This thesis seeks to reduce these gaps in knowledge. To begin, I synthesise the current scientific knowledge about bushmeat hunting and consumption outside of tropical forests, with the aim of identifying key geographic and conceptual gaps in research. The systematic review in Chapter 2 outlined that, despite increasing attention on this issue in recent years, there was a lack of scientific research in the southern and North African savannah regions. Additionally, information regarding the drivers of both hunting and consumption was scarce or contradictory, and that studies which investigated the effect of interventions were especially lacking. This thesis then provides an in-depth case study of the southern African country of Malawi, to expand the knowledge base regarding bushmeat hunting in areas outside of tropical forest regions. Chapters 3 and 4 explore the prevalence, drivers and motivations of bushmeat hunters and consumers at four protected areas in Malawi, and seek to understand which interventions may work best to reduce these activities. Incorporating this information in a decision-making context is, however, vital to achieve progress, and in Chapter 5 I undertake a participatory modelling process to explore the knowledge of conservation experts, and facilitate social learning. Generating robust estimates of prevalence of illegal or illicit activities is challenging, and Chapter 3 illustrates the utility of using methods drawn from social science to understand what proportion of households hunt and consume bushmeat. I find that bushmeat hunting and consumption both exist at relatively high levels in communities, and that the drivers of hunting differ from those of consumption. This study also illustrates the motivations for hunting and consumption, which show a mixture of economic, social and cultural rationales. The next stage of the process investigates a range of interventions that may change the behaviours of hunters and consumers, and cause a substitution of unsustainable livelihood choices with others. Chapter 4 shows that interventions that rely on harvesting of natural resources, a strategy currently favoured by conservation authorities, is not preferred and may not cause these behavioural substitutions. Interventions that provide long-term empowerment opportunities may, however, achieve conservation goals and be acceptable to communities. Finally, to facilitate decision-makers’ understanding of these complex systems, I undertook a two-stage process in Chapter 5 to explore both individual and group knowledge of bushmeat hunting and consumption. This process highlighted assumptions and areas for further research, as well as explored the potential impact of certain interventions on the system as a whole. Overall, this thesis furthers the understanding of bushmeat hunting and consumption in areas outside of tropical forests, and allows the identification of key actions to improve the management of these activities in Malawi. The information presented in this thesis highlights the contribution that bushmeat represents in terms of local livelihoods in Malawi, and that there is a clear need to create socially acceptable, legitimate interventions to complement enforcement. Such interventions need to be designed to recognise the differences between hunters and consumers of bushmeat, and incorporate knowledge from sectors outside of conservation, to ensure that both biodiversity and sustainable development objectives can be met.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has drawn renewed attention to bushmeat consumption in the Global South, with the risks and consequences of zoonotic disease transmission proving critical for global public health. Conservation and development practitioners have long targeted bushmeat trade and consumption, seeking to reduce hunting pressures on wildlife and natural ecosystems by introducing alternative proteins and livelihoods to rural communities. While the shortcomings of these interventions have frequently been attributed to failures to integrate local perspectives and needs in program design, in this study we ask how the unexamined values of conservation and development practitioners themselves may contribute to the further marginalization of rural communities. We consider three prevalent framings of the “bushmeat crisis”: the juxtaposition of global conservation priorities against local resource use, the developmental distinction between industrial food production and bushmeat hunting practices, and the problems that arise when bushmeat consumption shifts to urban centers from rural communities. By turning our attention to the ideologies that structure interventions for bushmeat consumption and trade, this paper questions the imagined neutrality of conservation and development interventions. We highlight how moral valuations are embedded in the prioritization of the “global” good of biodiversity conservation, to the exclusion of local relations with these same species and ecosystems. At the same time, cultural biases privilege a developmental pathway away from dietary dependence on bushmeat. Finally, we note the substantive differences between urban and rural bushmeat consumption practices, often occluded in blanket condemnations of the wildlife trade. At a moment when bushmeat trade and consumption are broadly identified as the source of a devastating pandemic, it is ever more critical to ensure that future interventions for public health and conservation alike are based on a more nuanced understanding of the multiple and diverse actors, practices, and worldviews involved.

Introduction Orang Asli are the indigenous people of Peninsular Malaysia, and theyconsume bush meat as a primary source of protein. Frequent contact with wildlife throughbush meat hunting for consumption and trade leaves people at risk of zoonotic infection. Thisstudy aims to assess the knowledge and practices of the Jahai tribe on the consumption andhandling of bush meat. Methods An analytical cross-sectional study was conducted amongJahai adults aged 18 years and above residing in Belum Forest. Due to their semi-nomadicnature of living, convenience sampling was used to select the participants, who wereapproached at their homes. A questionnaire was used to assess the knowledge and practicesrelating to bush meat and hygiene. Results The majority of the participants ate bush meatregularly but had poor knowledge about disease transmission. There was a significantassociation between sex and occupation with knowledge. A significant association was foundbetween knowledge on disease transmission with the consumption of bush meat. There wasno association between practice on cooking, hunting activities and handling carcasses andhand hygiene practice with the consumption of bush meat. Conclusion Most Jahai lackedsufficient knowledge on disease transmission and have poor practices regarding the handlingof bush meat and its carcasses, which might put them at a risk of infection. The findings canbe used as baseline data to develop effective strategies such as cultural-sensitive educationalprograms, to deepen the understanding of the community on the risk and prevention ofdeveloping diseases.

The study explored consumer segments in the bushmeat market and examined the influence of the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior and demographic characteristics on the consumption of bushmeat in Ghana using data obtained from 400 respondents across the three main ecological zones of Ghana, namely, the High Forest Zone, the Transitional Zone and the Savannah Zone. The Cragg’s Double Hurdle model was used to examine the influence of the constructs of the Theory of Planned Behavior on bushmeat consumption, and cluster analysis was used to examine the consumer segments. The results revealed that various factors relating to the Theory of Planned Behavior influenced bushmeat consumption and the quantity consumed differently. Specifically, the fear of contracting diseases and poisoning, nutrition, taste, the type of job of an individual and the availability of bushmeat positively influenced the consumption of bushmeat. In contrast, religion and price influenced bushmeat consumption negatively. Whereas the fear of disease influences the quantity consumed negatively, the nutrition value of bushmeat and chop bar as the source ofbushmeat positively influenced the quantity consumed. Age negatively influenced the decision to consume bush meat, whereas household size influenced the decision positively.

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak was a major threat to public health in Nigeria and it adversely affected the people’s perception on bush meat as it was revealed that wild animals were host of the virus. Thus, the study assessed the effects of EVD outbreak on bush meat marketing and consumption in Ibarapa Central Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select 85 respondents. Data collected with interview guide and analysed using with descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. The results showed that 58.80% of the respondents were between 40 – 50 years of age and 73% of the respondents were females. Majority (64.70%) of the respondents had been in bush meat business for more than 10 years. Before the EVD outbreak 37.14% of the respondents had more than 50 customers while patronage reduced to less than 25 customers in a day after EVD outbreak. Similarly, 42% of respondents had more than ₦21,000.00 in a day before EVD outbreak as against less than ₦5,000.00 in a day after the outbreak. Chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between the sources of information on EVD outbreak and bush meat sales at p

Bushmeat have provided complimentary protein for human population across the world over the centuries. This study assessed the concentration of heavy metals in bushmeats in New Bussa and its environs. Three carcass of bush meat (Kobus kob (Kob), Tragelaphus scriptus (Bushbuck) and Sylvicapra grimmia (Duiker)) were sourced from the study area. The carcass was digested and concentrations of nine heavy metals (Mn, Fe, Cu, Zn, Pb, Cr, Ni, Co and Cd) were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). Results obtained for the heavy metal analysis were subjected to one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) while Pearson’s correlation was used to determine the relationship in the samples. The heavy metal concentration in muscle tissues of the selected bushmeat revealed that zinc with 815.00±13.00 mg/kg in Kob was the highest mean value of all meat samples, followed by Iron (479.00±10.00 mg/kg) in Duiker while Pb level in Bushbuck 213.00±3.00 mg/kg is outrageously the highest. Copper, Chromium and Nickel did not exceed the permissible limits as set by FEPA/WHO. The concentration pattern of heavy metals in bush meat show that Sylvicapra grimmia and Tragelaphus scriptus had the same pattern of Zn>Fe>Pb>Cr>Mn>Cu>Co>Ni>Cd concentration while Kobus kob pattern of association is Zn>Fe>Cr>Pb>Ni>Cu>Co>Cd>Mn. The comparative study of the heavy metal concentrations revealed that Zinc (Zn) recorded the highest frequency, followed by Iron (Fe) and Lead (Pb). This study has shown that high level of Pb in the samples from the study area is a matter of concern in bush meat consumption in the study area; hence people should be warned of impending danger in the consumption of heavy metals contaminated bush meat.
 Keywords: Bushmeat, heavy metals, concentration, toxicity, contaminated

The 2014 disease outbreak in West Africa of the Ebola virus was the longest, largest, deadliest, and most complex epidemic of its kind in history. It was believed to have originated from bushmeat consumption and exhibited sustained human-to-human transmission. We assessed the effects of the virus outbreak in West Africa on bushmeat enterprise and environmental health risk behaviors among households in Nigeria. We adopted a multistage sampling technique to select 100 respondents. We structured two sets of questionnaires for both bushmeat sellers and consumers. The questionnaire contained information about the respondent’s socioeconomic characteristics; perceived causes of the Ebola outbreak; risk behaviors; level of sales; and consumption before, during, and after the Ebola outbreak. We found a significant decrease in the levels of sales and consumption of bushmeat during the outbreak. Consumers perceived touching an infected person, but not eating bushmeat, as a significant mode of Ebola transmission. Although respondents knew about some practices that help to prevent Ebola, they did not practice these to a reasonable extent. We also found that females were 25% more likely than males to consume bushmeat during the outbreak. Given these findings, we recommend that the government should sensitize people and educate them on risk prevention behaviors they should adopt to prevent the transmission of the Ebola disease.

The use of wildlife by residents of Maripa, Aripao, Puerto Cabello of Caura, Trinchera and Jabillal, located in the lower Caura River drainage, Orinoco River basin (Venezuela) was evaluated to help shape the basic guidelines applicable to regional management plans for these natural resources. 72 unstructured interviews and 668 surveys (June 2000 to May 2001) were made and helped to establish that these communities are mainly agricultural, with fishing occupying fourth place and hunting eighth in the economic activities of the sector. Hunting and fishing are two very important activities in the area, but they can´t be separated and hunting can be recognized as a sideline activity. The annual total biomass of bushmeat consumption was estimated at 76 tons and over 126 tons for fish. Weekly consumption of bushmeat per person was estimated at 468 g representing a protein intake of 93.6 g/week/person. When we consider all the protein sources evaluated, the average consumption estimated was 1.49 Kg/week/person, net intake of animal protein is 298 g/week/person. Of these 31,4% was contributed by the bushmeat, 51,1% from fish and 16,3% from farm animals. This suggests that pressure on wildlife fauna can increase, and that it is necessary to initiate management measures, such as environmental education, monitoring and control, and sustainable use plans for the most affected or critical species.

In this article, we frame issues around food security and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa and discuss the potential contribution of interrelated factors like seafood access, bush meat consumption, and public health concerns with the recent outbreak. Since seafood is a major dietary constituent in the affected countries, we posit that seafood unavailability due to unsustainable fishing practices and global change may increase the demand for bush meat and the risk of exposure to zoonosis such as Ebola through hunting and wildlife interactions. We discuss the potential contribution of these contextual drivers to public health within the wider milieu of changing climate, habitat disruptions, human migration and its implication for adaptive capacity, resilience and environmental governance. We conclude with policy options and research directives in addressing regional food security challenges, maritime policy, and emerging global health concerns.

The aim of this study was to investigate knowledge on Simian Orthopoxvirosis or Monkeypox in 180 people (129 males and 51 females) using the stratified probability sampling method. The majority of the respondents were (are): 35-50 years old (45.00%), with secondary education (43.33%), farmers (40.56%) and married (80.00%). The disease appears every year, thus demonstrating its endemic nature (98.33% of the respondents); 58.3% of the respondents said that the disease appears very often during the dry season, on the contrary, 40% of the respondents said that the disease appears during the rainy season. However, 1.7% of respondents said that the disease occurs every other season. The majority of respondents (81.1%) said that the cause of the disease is the consumption of bush meat, followed by wild vegetables (3.3%), fish (2.8%), livestock (2.2%) and caterpillars (1.7%) respectively. 65.2% of the respondents use Manihot esculenta to treat the disease locally, and followed by the leaves and wine of Raphia sese (13%), Morinda morindoides (13%) and Myrianthus arboreus (8.7%). Between January 17 and September 10, 2020, 40 cases of monkey pox were admitted to HGR of Businga (Maximum age: 42 years, minimum age: 1 year, average age: 13.3 years). 28 patients were male and 12 female. It is therefore advisable that surveillance be organized in wild animals and bush meat exposed on the market to ensure that they are not contaminated with Monkeypoxvirus. It is thus needed to establish a veterinary laboratory in Nord-Ubangi Province.

Prices, poaching, and protein alternatives: An analysis of bushmeat consumption around Serengeti National Park, Tanzania

This paper assessed the economic contribution of wildlife to bushmeat market in Ikire, Osun State, Nigeria. Primary data were collected using semi-structured questionnaire and in-depth interview of targeted respondents. Bush meat sellers in Irewole local government area, Ikire were sampled. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, budgetary analysis and likert scale analysis. The result showed that majority of the bushmeat sellers were females (55.9%) with a mean age of 41 years. Most of the bushmeat sellers strongly agreed (4.91±0.09) that they generate more income from bushmeat trade, 4.71±0.17 equally noted that customers prefer to purchase bushmeat than convectional meat type while 1.56±0.19 disagreed that seasonal change affects customer’s preferences for bushmeat in the markets. Also, 5.00±0.0, 4.82±0.13, 4.74±0.17 respectively believes that bushmeat are more delicious, better source of protein, more of medicinal value when compared with conventional meat type. Furthermore, an average of 3.70±0.2 had cultural sentiments for the consumption of bush meat. An average net profit per respondent yielded ₦3,565.53, while BCR and profitability index are 1.95 and 0.95 respectively. Conclusively, bushmeat trading is a profitable and very lucrative enterprise. 

A year long markets survey of bush meat trade and consumption was organized to assess the volume and components of bush meat trade in the Oban Hills region of Cross River State, Nigeria with the specific objectives to determine (types and kinds) or species of animals (especially primates) involved in the bush meat trade and investigate their sources, quantity, prices and trends in trade as well as seasonal variations in bush meat (primate) supplies and order to determine their implications for sustainable livelihoods and conservation while creating awareness on need for sustainable harvesting and conservation of wildlife among the operators of bush meat trade and consumptive activities. Reconnaissance surveys, intensive dry and wet season markets survey using formal and informal investigative carcass examination and bargaining to inspect and price bush meat. Results show that bush meat trade is growing at an alarming rate with increasing number of hunters and traders, driven by profit motive and destructive consequences on the population of all categories of vertebrate fauna including endangered species. The paper calls for the adoption of the provisions of the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) of the United Nations by Nigerian government to safeguard the sustainable livelihoods and biodiversity of the nation. Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol. 1 (1) 2008: pp. 70-83

The meat of wild animals (bushmeat) is consumed extensively in many tropical regions. Over the past few decades bushmeat consumption has greatly increased, threatening the survival of some hunted species and the supply of animal protein to countless numbers of people. Understanding patterns of bushmeat consumption is thus vital to ensure the sustainable use of this resource. Although the economic drivers of bushmeat consumption have been well studied, non-wealth correlates have been poorly considered. Here, we analyse how variables such as age and gender may influence bushmeat consumption in four West African countries, within the Guinean forests (Togo and Nigeria) and Sahel (Burkina Faso and Niger). We interviewed a total of 2453 persons (1253 urban, 1200 in rural areas) to determine frequency of consumption of bushmeat as well as the main species eaten. We found significant differences in bushmeat consumption between rural and urban areas in all four countries. In particular, the proportion of persons not consuming any bushmeat was highest in urban areas. Gender differences in bushmeat consumption were not generally important but young people consistently avoided eating bushmeat, especially in Togo and Nigeria, and in urban areas. The complicated interplay between tradition and evolution of social systems (especially the trends towards westernization) may explain the different perceptions that people may have towards consuming bushmeat in the four studied countries. In addition, we found considerable variation in types of bushmeat eaten, with antelopes and large rodents eaten by the great majority of interviewees, but bats, monkeys, and snakes being avoided, especially in urban settlements.