Saving Apes from the Bushmeat Trade
Saving Apes from the Bushmeat Trade
As large tracts of forest in Central and West Africa are opened up to logging and mining, commercial “bushmeat” hunting is threatening apes, chimpanzees and other endangered species with extinction.
“Bushmeat” is the name given to the flesh of wild animals killed in the forests and shrub lands of Africa. IFAW and other partner organizations are working to find practical solutions to the bushmeat crisis.
In 2001, IFAW supported the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria’s (EAZA) presentation of a petition to the European Parliament to protest the commercial hunting and sale of great apes, elephants and other wildlife.
On 23 January 2002, the Petitions Committee of the European Parliament officially accepted the two-million signature Petition Against the Bushmeat Trade.
In January 2003, the Committee on Petitions of the European Parliament decided to present an official report to the Parliament, which will be debated in plenary session.
In partnership with a Member of the UK Parliament, Mr. Barry Gardiner, IFAW helped develop a strategy and launch the UK Bushmeat Campaign in February 2002. The campaign will engage Members of Parliament (MPs), Members of the European Parliament (MEPs), House of Lords, Greater London Authority (GLA), and London Council leaders into a national discussion to support a pledge to stop the illegal bushmeat.
Many of the MPs and MEPs have already been involved with the bushmeat issue. By building on existing political support, IFAW hopes to make bushmeat an issue of EU-wide concern.
At the European Union and Africa Caribbean Pacific Joint Parliamentary Assembly (ACP-EU) meeting in Cape Town, South Africa, three of the resolutions adopted addressed the bushmeat issue in the context of trade and phytosanitary measures, health issues and Rio +10 (World Summit on Sustainable Development).
The ACP-EU Joint Parliamentary Assembly (JPA) meets twice annually and seeks to increase co-operation between the Member States of the EU and those of African, Caribbean and Pacific countries.
IFAW’s involvement with the Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (BCTF), the Ape-Alliance, the UK Tropical Forest Forum Working Group and the Great Ape Survival Project (GRASP) also reflects our commitment to a broader alliance of groups to tackle this complex problem.
GRASP is an innovative United Nations project of UNEP and UNESCO designed to lift the threat of imminent extinction faced by gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos and orangutans. To further our joint efforts, IFAW president Fred O’Regan announced in September 2002 that IFAW had committed a US $30,000 grant to GRASP.
Click below to download a 90-second video on the animal victims of the bushmeat trade. The video gives a glimpse into the needless pain, suffering and death caused by the commercial bushmeat crisis in Central and West Africa. The problem has grown worse because of the activities of the international logging and mining corporations.
Depending upon your connection speed, you may have better results with the Windows Media version.
Warning: this video contains graphic and disturbing images showing the horrific cruelty associated with the bushmeat trade. Parents are advised not to allow their children to watch this video.