Wildlife, popularly called bush meat, is still widely consumed in Nigeria’s top cities, regardless of location, age, income, or the potential links to zoonotic diseases such as COVID-19.
WildAid disclosed this in a report titled ‘Widespread bush meat consumption across Nigeria post COVID report finds, but points to paths for reduction’.
The report which was commissioned by WildAid stated that GlobeScan conducted the survey of 2,000 people in Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Calabar, all major centres for the bush meat trade in Nigeria.
Faced with enormous threats including hunting for bush meat, wildlife species in Nigeria have declined dramatically over the past 50 years, it stated.
Today, it added, Nigeria had fewer than 50 lions, 100 gorillas, 500 elephants and between 1,400 to 2,300 chimpanzees left in the wild.
According to the report, the bush meat trade was prevalent in West and Central Africa, with Nigeria being the transit point for illegal wildlife trade.
Part of the report read, “The report found 71 per cent of participants had consumed bush meat at some point in their lives, and 45 per cent had consumed it within the last year.
“COVID-19 was of concern to 27 per cent of consumers who said they stopped buying bush meat, in a country that was previously impacted by an Ebola outbreak.
“Bush meat consumption dipped at that time, but increased again after publicity died down.”
While bush meat was an important part of rural food security, the report stated that rapid urbanisation had caused a soaring urban demand for bush meat, despite widely available and affordable alternative protein sources.
It stated that more than 50 per cent who had consumed bush meat within the last year (2020) cited taste as the main reason, while 30 per cent said it was part of their culture, and 25 per cent said that it was healthier and fresher than regular meat and fish.
The Director, Federal Department of Forestry, Federal Ministry of Environment, Rasak Adekola, stated, “The term ‘bush meat’ is freely used in Nigeria to describe wildlife species erroneously believed to be free and available for poaching and consumption.
“In most cases, poachers are oblivious of the fact that these wild animals are protected by law.
“WildAid’s campaign against bush meat consumption is a highly commendable and timely initiative that will not only assist in ensuring that our wild animals are left in the wild, but also help in the control, and keeping zoonotic diseases at bay.
“The outcome of the survey is quite revealing and will definitely form the basis for our step-up action against bush meat consumption in Nigeria.”
On the positive side, the report said, 98 per cent of those surveyed said there were ready alternatives in the form of fish, chicken and other farmed meats.
Additionally, it added, nearly 70 per cent of those surveyed said wildlife should be protected and 59 per cent believed wildlife was important for their national heritage.
However, the survey showed that public knowledge of existing wildlife legislation that prohibited hunting and trade of endangered species was low.
Only 31 per cent correctly identified that only some species were legal to buy/eat.
Almost nine out of 10 (88 per cent) said that some or all bush meat should be legal.
WildAid West African Representative, Linus Unah, stated, “We need to educate urban Nigerians, who typically live far away from forests where bush meat is often harvested, about the risks of zoonotic disease, the conservation impact of the bush meat trade and the fact that current wildlife laws prohibit the hunting and trade of several species.”
Between 2016 and 2019, it added, over half of the pangolin scales seized globally came from Nigeria.
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