Animals affected by the Bushmeat Crisis
Gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, colobus monkeys, elephants, okapis, forest antelopes, cane rats, pangolins, porcupines, bush pigs, guinea fowls, and monitor lizards
"Let us remember, always, that we are the consumers. By exercising free choice, by choosing what to buy, what not to buy, we have the power, collectively, to change the ethics of business. We have the potential to exert immense power for good - we carry it with us, in our purses, checkbooks, and credit cards."
(Jane Goodall, A Reason for Hope)
"Eating the World's Wildlife to Extinction"
Of all the conservation projects that we're involved with, we are most concerned about and committed to supporting a solution to the "Bushmeat Crisis". With your support, Happy Hollow has been a Supporting Member of the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (BCTF) for three years.
Eating the world's wildlife to extinction, or the "Bushmeat Crisis", is the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife populations in Africa today. The "Bushmeat Crisis" is the hunting of animals like gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, elephants, and other forest animals for food.
Africans have always survived by hunting wildlife for food, but it was limited to hunting on the fringes of the forests rather than hunting the animals deep within the forest. Most importantly, the people hunted only what they needed to survive. Now, foreign logging companies have entered African countries to operate logging businesses in pristine, untouched areas of the forests. These logging operations create roads deep into once unreachable forests, allowing hunters easy access to the previously-safe wildlife living there. The roads make it easier to transport the kills from the deep forests to the markets. The guns and ammunition supplied by the logging companies encourage native people to hunt additional bushmeat to feed the logging companies' employees and a growing commercial trade. The increased use of wildlife for food has become very lucrative. It has become so highly organized and commercial, it is depleting forests of all wildlife.
What You Can Do
Continue your support of organizations like Happy Hollow, The Jane Goodall Institute, adn the American Zoo and Aquarium's Bushmeat Crisis Task Force, who provide aid to combat the Bushmeat Crisis.
Read information available on websites that can explain this complex conservation issue. Become informed about the bushmeat crisis and talk about it. Some great sites for information are:
Bushmeat Crisis Task Force
The Jane Goodall Institute
Ask before you buy. Become an informed consumer, know where the products you are purchasing come from. For example, when purchasing wood products, look for the Forest Stewardship Council logo. When you see it, you can be confident that the product comes from a well-managed forest. The Forest Stewardship Council is an international non-profit organization founded in 1993 to support environmentally appropriate, socially beneficial, and economically viable management of the world's forests. Remember that your buying choices make a difference!
Ask for continued support of S.B. 1007, the Great Ape Conservation Act of 1999, by contacting your Representatives and Senators. This law has been passed, but is not fully funded. This law prohibits the illegal hunting of endangered species and reduces imports of non-certified timber (protecting forests) and coltan (found in cell phones and laptops) mined in protected areas.