People in developing countries eat lessbushmeat as they migrate from rural tourban areas16 November 2020

The yellow-footed tortoise (Chelonoidis denticulatus),also known as the Brazilian giant tortoise, can be foundin the Amazon Basil of South America. Credit: ThaisMorcatty

People around the world, especially in developingcountries in Africa, Asia, and South America,consume wild game, or bushmeat, whether out ofnecessity, as a matter of taste preference, or, inthe case of particularly desirable wildlife species, toconnote a certain social status. Bushmeatconsumption, however, has devasted thepopulations of hundreds of wildlife species andbeen linked to the spread of zoological diseasessuch as the Ebola virus.

New Princeton University research finds that whenpeople in developing countries move from ruralareas to cities, they consume less bushmeat overtime, perhaps because other sources of animalprotein are more readily available. They also foundthat children in urban areas generally have less ofa taste for wild game than their parents. In the long

term, this could be good news for conservation.

The researchers traveled to Brazil—one of manycountries worldwide experiencing a dramaticmigration from rural to urban areas—and interviewedthousands of adults and children about their wildlifeconsumption habits.

The study, published in the journal ConservationBiology, is among the first to explore how theconsumption of wildlife changes as countriesbecome increasingly urbanized. The results haveprofound implications for the rapidly growing wildlifetrade, which is a multi-billion-dollar industry thatthreatens human health, drives species extinction,and damages ecosystems.

"In the Amazon, as in most developing countries,people are leaving rural areas and moving intocities. We find—for whatever reason—they arereducing their consumption of wild animals overtime, providing a needed break for overhuntedwildlife," said study co-author David Wilcove,professor of ecology and evolutionary biology andpublic affairs and the High Meadows EnvironmentalInstitute.

"A decline in per capita consumption of wildanimals by urban residents gives us hope thatpressure on hunted species may decrease overtime. At the same time, we don't know whether thisdecline will be large enough to compensate for anincreasing human population in urban areas," saidWillandia Chaves, the lead author of the study, whoworked on the project as a postdoctoral researcherat Princeton and is now an assistant professor inthe Department of Fish and Wildlife Conservation atVirginia Tech.

Wilcove and Chaves conducted the study withDenis Valle of the University of Florida, Aline S.

1 / 4

Tavares of the Universidade Federal do Amazonas,and Thais Q. Morcatty of Oxford BrookesUniversity.

The yellow-spotted river turtle was the most consumedthroughout the Brazilian regions surveyed by PrincetonUniversity researchers. Credit: Thais Morcatty

The researchers surveyed six small towns, threelarge towns, and Manaus, the largest city in theAmazon Basin. This included 1,356 householdsand 2,776 school-age children. They studied theconsumption of imperiled tortoises and freshwaterturtles, as they are among the top five mostconsumed and traded species in urban areas in theAmazon. An estimated 1.7 million turtles wereeaten in northwestern Brazil in 2018.

While subsistence hunting is permitted, mostwildmeat consumption in Brazil is illegal. Moreover,the turtle species that were being consumed wherethis study took place are highly endangered. Forthis reason, the researchers had to design a surveythat would allow interviewees to honestly answerquestions without implicating themselves.

To do this, they used dominoes. The head of eachhousehold (whether male or female) was asked aseries of questions about their consumption ofturtles (illegal) versus cornmeal (legal).

When asked, "Do you consume this item in yourhouse?" respondents would randomly choose adomino from a bag: one dot represented cornmeal,and two dots for turtles. Because the researchersknew the ratio of one-dot to two-dot dominoes inthe bag, they could calculate the consumption ratesof turtles while protecting participants' responses bynot linking the behavior to an individual participant.

While the domino approach is not new, it has rarelybeen employed in conservation studies, making thisstudy more cutting-edge. "It's also exciting becauseit gives us much more reliable answers aboutsensitive activities than direct questioning does,"Wilcove said.

Next, the researchers randomly selected 49 middleand high schools (11 in Manaus, 13 in large towns,and 25 in small towns) to study any generationaldifferences in how much they liked and consumedbushmeat compared to adults. At each school, theyrandomly selected four classrooms and asked theschoolchildren to complete an anonymousquestionnaire, with parental consent. Thisaccounted for 2,700 students in 146 classrooms,and schoolchildren varied from 11 to 18 years inage.

First, the researchers found people generallyconsumed fewer turtles in larger urban areas. Thiscould be because turtles cost more in larger citiesthan in small towns, and law enforcement also islikely stronger in larger urban centers. In smalltowns, on the other hand, the rates of turtleconsumption are much higher, perhaps becausepeople living there have ready access to wilderareas where the turtles live or perhaps becauseenforcement of wildlife laws is lax.

2 / 4

These yellow-footed tortoises have been captured forhuman consumption. Credit: Thais Morcatty

Second, children in urban areas are generally lesslikely to consume turtles than their parents. Socialeating norms could play a role. If other children sayit's "uncool" to eat turtles, then other kids mightfollow suit, or vice versa. Perhaps children considerthe conservation implications of eating wildlife. Orperhaps it's simply because children's tastebudshaven't been fully developed. The researchers saidmore studies are needed to understand children'smotivations.

"Is it a taste they will develop later in life, likechildren refusing to eat vegetables, or is it a lifelongswitch?" Wilcove said. "We don't know yet, but theanswer will mean a lot to the future of wildlife in theAmazon."

The researchers estimated that the overallconsumption of endangered turtles in Amazonasstate, the largest state in the Brazilian Amazon, is avery alarming 1.7 million turtles per year. Therefore,programs aimed at reducing consumption of illegalwildlife are urgently needed.

Certain towns seem to be "hotspots" for bushmeat consumption, so conservation efforts in those areascould be particularly important. Importantly,conservation education focused on schoolchildren,

including increasing awareness regarding the plightof Amazonian turtles, could have long-term benefitsif children forgo eating turtles as they becomeadults.

"Conservation efforts have focused on things likecreating protected areas, working with ruralcommunities to better manage wildlife, andimproving enforcement—all important actions.However, unless we also target urban demand forwildlife, we will not be able to effectively addressthis issue," Chaves said.

"The bushmeat trade, both domestic andinternational has emerged as a massive threat tobiodiversity, comparable to habitat destruction forsome places. Yet, our knowledge of what drivesthis trade and how those drivers may change in thefuture is surprisingly weak. Until we betterunderstand these issues, we are poorly equipped tosolve this growing threat to wildlife," Wilcove said.

More information: Willandia A. Chaves et al.Impacts of rural to urban migration, urbanization,and generational change on consumption of wildanimals in the Amazon. Conservation Biology. Firstpublished: 30 October 2020 doi.org/10.1111/cobi.13663

Provided by Princeton University

3 / 4

APA citation: People in developing countries eat less bushmeat as they migrate from rural to urbanareas (2020, November 16) retrieved 27 April 2022 from https://phys.org/news/2020-11-people-countries-bushmeat-migrate-rural.html

This document is subject to copyright. Apart from any fair dealing for the purpose of private study or research, nopart may be reproduced without the written permission. The content is provided for information purposes only.

Powered by TCPDF (www.tcpdf.org)

4 / 4