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HUNTING PROVES SERIOUS THREAT TO NATIONAL PARKS
Durrell Wildlife and WildCRU publish first research to track impact of bushmeat trade

Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust (DWCT) and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU) at Oxford University have published new research which tracks the consumption of bushmeat in specific geographic areas for the first time. The study was funded by the UK government’s Darwin Initiative Fund.

The research shows conclusively that national parks are the primary source of bushmeat and are under great threat from hunting as a result.

With consumption greatly increasing in the last few decades it has long been assumed, but not scientifically established, that the harvest of wild meat in Western and Central Africa is exceeding natural production rates and is therefore endangering species native to the area.

The research, spearheaded by Dr John Fa, Director of Conservation Science at DWCT in conjunction with the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), is the first report of its kind to calculate annual bushmeat volume traded by site, species and overall in the Cross-Sanaga rivers region, Nigeria and Cameroon -  including the Cross River and Korup national parks.

Dr John Fa said: “Our cross-site comparison documents the staggering volume of wild species affected by hunting in the region. Most shockingly we  conclude that species within the protected national parks in both Nigeria and Cameroon are likely to be affected negatively by the current and future demand for bushmeat in the surrounding areas.

”Conducted over a five-month period the research details bushmeat carcasses deposited in 89 urban and rural markets in a 35,000 km2 area. Professor David Macdonald, a co-author of the paper and Director of the WildCRU said, “Our study is unique in putting numbers on the bushmeat harvest at the scale of river catchment. This information now provides a valuable benchmark for accurately establishing the balance of human consumption and natural production”.

The study entitled: “Getting to grips with the magnitude of exploitation: Bushmeat in the Cross-Sanaga rivers region, Nigeria and Cameroon” was conducted by Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust and the Wildlife Conservation Research Unit (WildCRU), Royal Zoological Society of Antwerp and the Zoological Society of London.

 

Fa, J.E., Seymour, S., Dupain, J., Amin, R., Albrechtsen, L., and Macdonald D. (2006). Getting to grips with the magnitude of exploitation: Bushmeat in the Cross–Sanaga rivers region, Nigeria and Cameroon.  Biological Conservation, 129: 497-510.