The Bushmeat Crisis: Tipping The Scales In Africa.

Bushmeat refers to wildlife that is hunted and sold for human consumption. Across Africa, but more prominently in Western and Central Africa, both the legal and illegal trade of bushmeat contribute significantly to the economy as well as food security for rural communities.

Despite these benefits for human populations, and many other driving forces, the continued unsustainable hunting practices could prove detrimental to the wildlife being hunted, and other organisms that form part of the intricate food web and behavioural systems associated with these animals.

Unsustainable harvesting or overexploitation, the process of removing resources at a faster rate than they can replenish, can cause a chain reaction of impacts across various ecosystem levels and will eventually feed back into human communities. Hunting of wild animals in African biomes has historically occurred but on a small, subsistence scale. With increasing human populations, and thus, higher demand for food, urban development, better technology, changing lifestyles, and globalization, bushmeat hunting has become a biodiversity concern.

Although a variety of animals are hunted - from small to large vertebrates; the impact on wildlife biodiversity is not limited to the species being hunted but extends beyond the individual to all those with which it interacts and depends upon.

Species differ in their elasticity to hunting pressure, and thus some species, particularly large, slow-reproducing species such as the great apes, are disproportionately impacted by hunting, compared to smaller, fast-producing species such as squirrels.

From an ecological perspective, this loss of large species, whether targeted or accidentally obtained, (e.g. snares that catch predators of a particular target buck) can cause changes in the species assemblages and ecological interactions within an area.

As is customary for ecosystem dynamics, the impact on food webs and nutrient cycling systems can cause a chain reaction of impacts which could ultimately lead to a dysfunctional ecosystem in the areas targeted for bushmeat hunting, leaving it more vulnerable to a changing climate and other influencing factors. Aside from biodiversity implications, bushmeat hunting has negative impacts on human populations too.

There is increasing evidence of health risks associated with bushmeat handling and consumption. Zoonoses, diseases that affect humans but originate from animals, are of specific concern. Increased interaction between humans and wildlife poses a risk of increased infection of known and novel viruses.

The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) originated from chimpanzees, squirrels act as carriers for monkeypox and it is thought that the Ebola virus originated from fruit bats, to name but a few. Food security for poor and rural areas of Africa is also of concern - as more animals are killed for the trade, and as ecosystems start to degrade, fewer food resources will be available.

The above-mentioned implications of the bushmeat trade and wildlife exploitation are only two examples of how this unsustainable harvesting practice can negatively impact humans and our natural ecosystems. The bushmeat trade has many more implications for conservation, health, and management practices not only in Africa but globally too.

What about the solutions, what can we do? Various solutions can address these issues, such as better land use planning, increased job opportunities that act as alternative sources of income, more comprehensive laws and standards for hunting as well as increased education about the implications of the bushmeat trade. The overexploitation of the earth’s resources is having irreversible and detrimental impacts on our environment and the lives of all organisms.