Bushmeat Database

The searchable Bushmeat Database contains more than 700 citations, including peer-reviewed journal articles, books and book chapters, technical papers, reports and conference proceedings. Citations include direct DOI-based links to the articles on the original journal or publisher’s website. To see the data displayed in a visual format, visit the Bushmeat Data Map.

Incentives for sustainable hunting of bushmeat in Río Muni, Equatorial Guinea
Author
Author	Kümpel, N.F.
Year
Year	2006
Secondary Title
Secondary Title	Imperial College London, University of London and Institute of Zoology, Zoological Society of London
Volume
Volume	PhD
Pages
Pages
Abstract
Abstract	Bushmeat hunting is thought to be becoming increasingly unsustainable in west and central Africa, but true assessment of sustainability, and consequently appropriate management, is constrained by poor understanding of cause and effect. This cross-disciplinary study considers the complex and dynamic interactions between market, hunter and prey along an entire bushmeat chain in continental Equatorial Guinea, thus enabling evaluation of the sustainability of the system under different policy scenarios. Fieldwork was undertaken over a period of 18 months from 2002-2004. Market surveys and consumer interviews in Bata, the regional capital, were used to evaluate the determinants of urban bushmeat consumption: people preferred fresh meat and fish, including bushmeat, but tended to consume cheaper frozen foods more often. Bushmeat consumption increased with income. 1607 household and 72 hunter interviews were conducted in the village of Sendje, gateway to the forested Monte Alén National Park and major source of bushmeat to Bata. Men hunt for income because there are few other livelihood options. A village offtake survey estimated over 10,000 animals hunted per year (90% by trapping), hunted using a long-term rotation of camps up to 30 km from the village. Hunter behaviour, prey choice and animal encounter rates were recorded during 77 trapper and 48 gun-hunter follows. Trapping is currently preferred to gunhunting due to lower costs and relatively high returns. However, as the availability and affordability of guns and cartridges increases, and trapping success decreases, hunters are switching to shooting arboreal prey. Population densities of key primate prey species were estimated in two sites with differing gun-hunting histories, using 408 km of line transects. Whereas some of the guenon monkey species were still numerous in the heavily hunted village site, the absence of Colobus satanus suggests they are more vulnerable to hunting pressure. Extremely high densities of Colobus satanus were found inside the park, suggesting it should be an urgent conservation priority. The current oil boom in Equatorial Guinea is increasing urban wealth and subsequent demand for bushmeat. In the absence of alternative foods and rural livelihoods, and proper enforcement of protected areas, people will continue to hunt for the commercial bushmeat trade until many vulnerable species become at least locally extinct.
DOI
DOI

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