1. International bushmeat trade originating from West/Central Africa Introduction to species in trade Developed by the CITES Secretariat GreenCustoms Knowledge Series No. 24

2. 2 Questions to answer What is bushmeat? Where is bushmeat traded? Why is bushmeat trade of concern? Which species are traded as bushmeat? Are any of these listed in the Appendices?

3. Bushmeat What is bushmeat? –A simple definition is meat from animals taken from the wild, or, meat derived from wild species

4. Bushmeat Where is bushmeat traded? –Bushmeat is traded world-wide, though much of the trade may be local –Commercial trade may be highly organized and professional, or conducted simply by the roadside

5. Bushmeat Why is bushmeat a conservation concern? –Trade in bushmeat is of conservation concern when it is unregulated and uncontrolled, when it is unsustainable, when species of conservation concern are targeted, and when over- harvesting results in various associated environmental impacts –Trade in bushmeat used to be for subsistence and meeting basic food needs; bushmeat trade today is often for the purpose of supplying prosperous city-dwellers with expensive status foods –Meat can be the prime target for hunting and trade, or a by- product of the hide or ivory trade

6. Bushmeat Why is bushmeat a conservation concern? –Trade in bushmeat is believed to often be biologically unsustainable and responsible for significant declines in wildlife population numbers in Africa 42% decrease in mammal density in a site in Democratic Republic of Congo 43-100% decrease in mammal density in a site in Gabon In one bushmeat market in Equatorial Guinea, more than 73,733 animals were counted in 1997-2005, including 11,994 monkeys –Up to 75% of tropical tree species depend on animal seed dispersal, and declines in populations of seed-dispersing animals will have an impact on forest health and renewal

7. Bushmeat What quantities are traded internationally? –Studies suggest 14-40% of bushmeat in Cameroon is exported; Congo 54-68%; Central African Republic 35%; and Equatorial Guinea 34% –As the trade is officially unrecorded, some indication can be derived from seizures into Europe In 2005, airports in the UK confiscated 25,000 loads of bushmeat from passengers’ luggage An estimated 5,000kg every week from Africa to France, (based on a 2008 study in Paris that looked at 134 passengers on 29 flights (out of a potential 180 flights), resulting in 188kg of seized bushmeat)

8. Bushmeat Are there other reasons to be concerned about bushmeat trade? –More than 70% of diseases that affect both animals and humans (zoonoses) stem from human contact with wildlife (e.g. monkeypox, SARS, simian immunodeficiency virus) –The SARS outbreak (believed to be linked to trade in wild civets for meat, and traced back to bats) cost the global economy an estimated $40-50 billion

9. Bushmeat Which species are commonly traded as bushmeat? –See CoP11 Doc. 11.44 for a list of CITES-listed mammal species –See various studies for lists of CITES-listed and non- CITES species (e.g. from FAO, UNEP, CBD, CMS, NGOs) Commonly traded as bushmeat are mammals, reptiles and birds

10. Bushmeat – App. I mammals Common nameScientific NameRange States African Elephant Loxodonta africana pan African Jentink’s duiker Cephalophus jentinki Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone Diana guenon Cercopithecus diana Sierra Leone to Ghana Gorilla Gorilla gorilla equatorial Africa Drill Mandrillus leucophaeus Nigeria to Cameroon Mandrill Mandrillus sphinx Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo Bonobo Pan paniscus DRC, Congo? Chimpanzee P. troglodytes Guinea to Uganda Leopard Panthera pardus pan African Doc 11.44 Annex 1

11. Bushmeat – App. I mammals Bonobo (Pan paniscus) Photo credit: Teresa Hart

12. Bushmeat – App. II mammals (1) Common nameScientific NameRange States Blue duiker Cephalophus monticola Nigeria to Kenya, to South Africa Ogilby’s duiker C. ogilbyi Sierra Leone to Gabon, Equatorial Guinea Yellow-backed duiker C. sylvicultor Gambia to Kenya, to Angola and Zambia Banded duiker C. zebra Sierra Leone to Cote d’Ivoire Moustached monkey Cercopithecus cephus Angola, CAR, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, DRC Red-bellied guenon C. erythrogaster southern Nigeria, Benin? Red-eared guenon C. erythrotis Nigeria, Cameroon Doc 11.44 Annex 1

13. Bushmeat – App. II mammals Red-eared guenon (Cephalophus erythrotis) Photo credit: Teresa Hart

14. Bushmeat – App. II mammals (2) Common nameScientific NameRange States Owl faced monkey C. hamlyni DRC, Rwanda, Uganda De Brazza’s monkey C. neglectus Cameroon to Ethiopia and DRC Greater white- nosed monkey C. nictitans Guinea to Congo and DRC Crowned guenon C. pogonias Nigeria (extinct?), Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Congo, CAR, DRC, Angola Preuss’s guenon C. preussi Nigeria, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea Sclater’s guenon C. sclateri Nigeria Sun tailed guenon C. solatus Gabon Doc 11.44 Annex 1

15. Bushmeat – App. II mammals De Brazza’s monkey (Cephalophus neglectus) Photo credit: Aaron Logan

16. Bushmeat – App. II mammals (3) Common nameScientific NameRange States Black colobus Colobus satanas Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon King colobus Colobus polykomos (incl. C. vellerosus) Guinea to Nigeria Red colobus Procolobus badius Senegal to Ghana Grey-cheeked mangabey Lophocebus albigena Cameroon to Gabon and Kenya and Tanzania Giant pangolin Manis gigantea Senegal to Uganda and Angola Tree pangolin Manis tricuspis West, central, east Africa Golden cat Profelis aurata Senegal to Kenya and Angola Doc 11.44 Annex 1, Appendices

17. Bushmeat – App. II mammals Golden cat (Profelis aurata)

18. Bushmeat – App. II mammals Tree pangolin (Manis tricuspis) Photo credit: Valerius Tygart

19. Bushmeat – App. III mammals Common nameScientific NameRange States African civet Civettictis civetta Senegal to Somalia and to Namibia and South Africa Water chevrotain Hyemoschus aquaticus Sierra Leone to Uganda Bongo Tragelaphus euryceros Sierra Leone to Kenya Sitatunga Tragelaphus spekei Gambia to Sudan, and to Botswana Doc 11.44 Annex 1

20. Bushmeat – App. III mammals African civet (Civettictis civetta)

21. Bushmeat – Non-CITES mammals Doc 11.44 Annex 1 Common nameSci. NameRange States Brush-tailed porcupine Atherurus africanus Gambia to Kenya and DRC Crested porcupine Hystrix cristata West, central, east Africa Peter’s duiker Cephalophus callipygus Cameroon, Gabon, Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda White-bellied duiker C. leucogaster Cameroon to DRC Black duiker C. niger Guinea to Nigeria Black-fronted duiker C. nigrifrons Cameroon to Kenya and Angola Giant forest hog Hylochoerus meinertzhageni Liberia to Ethiopia and Tanzania Red river hog Potamochoerus porcus Gambia to DRC

22. Bushmeat – Non-CITES mammals Brush-tailed porcupine (Hystrix cristata)

23. Bushmeat – Non-CITES mammals Crested porcupine (Hystrix cristata)

24. Bushmeat – Non-CITES mammals Red River Hog (Potamochoerus porcus) Photo credit: Teresa Hart

25. Bushmeat – Non-CITES mammals Common nameSci. NameRange States Forest giant pouched rat Cricetomys emini West, central and east Africa Ebian's palm squirrel Epixerus ebii Cameroon, west Africa Forest giant squirrel Protoxerus stangeri West, central. east Africa Greater cane rat, grasscutter Thryonomys swinderianus Sub-Saharan African African palm civet Nandinia binotata Sub-Saharan African African linsang Poiana richardsoni Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea Black-footed mongoose Bdeogale nigripes Angola, west Africa FAO, various sources

26. Bushmeat – Non-CITES mammals Greater cane rat (Thryonomys swinderianus)

27. Bushmeat - mammals In some cases it is easy to tell if a bushmeat seizure involves CITES-listed species –All primates are included in Appendix I or II –All wild cats are in Appendix I or II However, for other large groups used for bushmeat, it is not straightforward –Duikers & chevrotains can be Appendix I, II, III, or not listed –Some commonly traded African mammal species, such as porcupines and large rodents are not listed

28. Bushmeat - reptiles Forest crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) – Appendix I Nile crocodile (Crocodilus niloticus) – Appendix I [Except the populations of Botswana, Egypt (subject to a zero quota for wild specimens traded for commercial purposes), Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Uganda, the United Republic of Tanzania (subject to an annual export quota of no more than 1,600 wild specimens including hunting trophies, in addition to ranched specimens), Zambia and Zimbabwe, which are included in Appendix II] Ornate monitor (Varanus ornatus) – Appendix II Nile monitor (Varanus niloticus) – Appendix II Rock python (Python sebae) & Royal python (P. regius) – Appendix II Home’s hinge-back tortoise (Kinixys homeana) & Forest hinge-back tortoise (K. erosa) – Appendix II

29. Bushmeat - reptiles (App. II) Ornate monitor Varanus ornatus

30. Bushmeat - reptiles (App. I) Forest crocodile (Osteolaemus tetraspis) Photo credit: Teresa Hart

31. Bushmeat - birds Hornbills are commonly traded in Africa as bushmeat These species are important seed dispersers –Black-casqued Hornbill (Ceratogymna atrata) –Yellow-casqued Hornbill (C. elata) –Brown-cheeked Hornbill (Bycanistes cylindricus) –Black-and-white-casqued Hornbill (B. subcylindricus) –Tockus spp. None of these are CITES-listed

32. Birds make up a small proportion of the bushmeat for sale in markets Hornbills are among the birds most frequently reported in African bushmeat studies Pigeons are also sought after for meat Yellow-casqued Hornbill Bushmeat - birds Photo credit: Teresa Hart

33. Summary Bushmeat is meat from animals taken from the wild, or meat derived from wild species It is traded world-wide, though most trade is local Bushmeat is a conservation issue for many reasons Bushmeat trade involves both CITES-listed and non-CITES species

34. 34 CITES Secretariat Geneva www.cites.org