Socioeconomic determinants of hunters’ participation in bush meat trade in Ibadan Oyo State Nigeria

Abstract

This study investigated the socio-economic determinants of hunters’ participation in bush meat trade in Ibadan metropolis. Egbeda Local Government and Oluyole Local Government were purposively selected based on the intensity of bush meat trade there. Thirty percent of the population of registered hunters in these Local Government areas were randomly selected. A total of 126 respondents were interviewed through the use of a semi-structured questionnaire. Data obtained were analyzed through descriptive statistics and inferential analysis. The result revealed that (100%) of the respondents were men with majority (93.7%) of them within the age of 20-50 years. Majority (61%) had primary education while others (38%) had secondary education. Forty-four percent, 35% and 21% had 11-15, above 15 and below 10 years working experience respectively. More than half (61.5%) of the respondents engaged in hunting as their primary occupation while 14.3% combined farming with hunting. The average weekly profit made by hunters’ ranges from N4,000 to N50,000. Pearson Correlation analysis shows no significant relationship between years of experience and weekly profit (p<0.05). It also showed a statistically significant relationship between weekly profit and the months of highest abundance of bush meat to hunters (p<0.05). The study concludes that wildlife trade in the study area is influenced by level of education, limited alternate source of income and the profitability of the trade. The study recommends that the Government should implement working policies that will help to regulate and reduce over exploitation of wildlife; enhance the efficiency of wildlife trade and ensure its continuity.