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WFB 074 Lecture 10 – Announcements

Readings Lecture 9 & 10 Bradshaw, C. J. A., N. S. Sodhi, and B. W. Brook. 2009. Tropical turmoil: a biodiversity tragedy in progress. Frontiers in Ecology and the Environment 7:79-87 Fraser, Caroline. 2009. Rewilding the World. Chapter 12: Costa Rica’s Thousand-Year Vision. Oates, John F. 1999. Chapter 7: The Empty Forests of Ghana. Pp. 177-201 in Myth and reality in the rainforest: how conservation strategies are failing in West Africa. University of California Press, Berkeley. Bowman K. 2001. Chapter 6: Culture, ethics and conservation in addressing the bushmeat crisis in West Africa. Pages 75-84 in Bakarr M.I., da Fonseca G.A.B., Mittermeie,r R.A., Rylands, A.B., Painemilla, K.W., eds. Hunting and bushmeat utilization in the African rain forest, vol. 2. Washington: Conservation International.

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Announcements

Biodôme 1-page Reports due today!

Annotated Bibliography Proposals

due next Thursday, February 23.

WFB 074 Lecture 10 Tropical Forest Conservation

1. The Bushmeat Crisis – Dimension of the Problem

2. Ethical Dimension of the

Problem 3. Can Zoos be the Ark?

WFB 074 Lecture 10 Tropical Forest Conservation –

1. The Bushmeat Crisis

Hunter with Brush–tailed porcupine and Pangolin, Putu Range, Liberia,

2010

Hunting for food in tropical forests. 3 reasons for concern: 1. Evidence illustrating that the scale of hunting poses a real threat to many tropical forest species; 2. Depletion of wildlife is linked to the food security and livelihood of tropical forest-region inhabitants as there are few alternative sources of protein and income; 3. The so-called “bushmeat crisis” is the focus of several conservation organizations and development programs throughout the tropics. Ways in which hunting and wildlife trade operate, as well as their links to livelihood or ecosystem function, are either poorly understood or not properly taken into account. (after Nasi et al. 2008)

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation 1. The Bushmeat Crisis

Traditional wild sources of protein, hunted by local people.

Rodents

Giant Rat (from Martin1991)

What is Bushmeat?

Antelopes

Maxwell's Duiker carried by a hunter.

Sierra Leone, January 2006

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation - 1. The Bushmeat Crisis

What is Bushmeat?

Bats

Fruit Bat (Rousettus angolensis) Ghana, Volta Region, 2001

"Most fruit bats (Eidolon spp.) are eaten. They may even be smoked and packed in large quantities for markets in

Accra, Kumasi, and other population centres." (Asibey 1974:33)


See article: The new Bushmeat: Conservation Magazine Nov. 2011

Caged fruit bat for sale in the Congo.

"Anteaters": • Aardvark • Pangolins

Long-tailed Pangolin Manis tetradactyla

Cavally Forest, Côte d'Ivoire, 2002


What is Bushmeat?

Primates

Young Sooty Mangabey, Kafogo, Sierra Leone,

January 2006

"All monkeys, as well as Chimpanzees, form a regular item of diet where they are available." (Asibey 1974)


What is Bushmeat?

Birds

Green-tailed Bristle Bill Côte d'Ivoire, 2002

"Most birds, including birds of prey, sunbirds, and all herons, including Cattle Egrets (Bubulcus ibis) are

eaten." (Asibey 1974)


What is Bushmeat?

Reptiles

Kinixys belliana at Marahoué NP, Côte d'Ivoire, 2002

"All tortoises, turtles, both monitor lizard,

African Python, Gabon Viper, Puff Adder, and the Night Adder, are

eaten. Children may eat AgamaLizards."

(Asibey 1974)


What is Bushmeat?

Insects

Beetle Larva Côte d'Ivoire

"Insects such as brown ants are eaten, while the maggot of the Palm beetle is

highly prized." (Asibey 1974)


What is Bushmeat?

Snails

African Giant Snail, Ghana, Volta Region (Photo: © M. Weinbrenner 2001)

"…in Abidjan …1 million kilograms of

giant snail are eaten annually"

(Martin 1991)


What is Bushmeat?

Bushmeat Hunting Methods

Slingshot

West African Youth with Malimbe bird

(Martin 1991)


Snares

Snare along path Sierra Leone

(Photo: Ryan Norris 2006)



Other Traps

Making a traditional

squirrel trap. [Video won’t work in

BB]



Firearms

Hunter on the Niger Floodplain with endemic Sclater's Guenon (Cercopithecus

sclateri), shot in January 1988 (Photo: © J. Oates in Oates et al. 1992)




Night Hunting

Night Hunter with Carbide Headlamp

(Martin 1991)



Dimension of the Problem

Details Total Average per Day

Male Customers 8814 326

Female Customers 1813 67

Hours of recording 258.43 9.55 Meat consumed by

customers (kg) 600.9 22.26 Money spent on

meat by customers (US$) 2477.5 91.76

Number of People who ate at a Bushmeat “Chop Bar” at Sunyani, Ghana for the Period 7 January to 3 February 1976 (27 days) (Data from Asibey 1977)

"…75 percent of the population depends largely on traditional sources of protein supply… The people are at home with these sources of protein, and enjoy them more than other available sources of protein. This is an important point, for a person should enjoy the food he eats.” (Asibey 1974)


Dimension of the Problem Species Quantity

Total US$

Per kg US$

Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) 204.4 1088.12 5.32 Brushtail Porcupine (Atherurus africanus) 8.2 44.97 5.48 Crested Porcupine (Hystrix cristata) 4.5 15.14 3.36 Bushbuck (Tragelaphus scriptus) 292.8 988.15 3.37 Grey Duiker (Sylvicapra grimmia) 51.7 202.75 3.92 Red-flanked Duiker (Cephalophus rufilatus) 10.8 41.89 3.88 Waterbuck (Kobus defassa) 8.4 24.29 2.89 Royal Antelope (Neotragus pygmaeus) 1.7 6.34 3.73

Civet Cat (Viverra civetta) 8 22.53 2.82 Ahanta Francolin [bird] (Francolinus ahantenis) 4.5 20.86 4.63

Total / Average 595 2455.02 3.94

Quantity of Bushmeat and Selling Price at Sunyani “Chop Bar”, Ghana

for the Period 7 January to 3 February 1976 (27 days) (Data from Asibey 1977)



(from Jori et al. 1998. The biology and use of the African brush-tailed porcupine (Atherurus africanus, Gray, 1842) as a food animal. Biodiversity and Conservation 7:1417-1426)

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation – 1. The Bushmeat Crisis


Study of Hunting Practices on Bioko Island.

Brush-tailed Porcupine hunted at more than 2 x the sustainable level.

The Bioko Drill was hunted at 14 x the sustainable level.

Blue Duiker hunted at 8 x the sustainable Level

(Spinney 1998 cited in Bowman.)


Sustainable Development: Bushmeat Production

Taking pressure of wild animals by breeding the most desirable species.

Example: Grasscutters (Thryonomys swinderianus)


= Micro or Mini Livestock.


Grasscutters or Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) Main Advantages:

Rabbit Hutch Production at the YMCA Vocational Training Centre, Accra, Ghana. Photo: K. Decher 1973.

Good disease resistance (compared to rabbit), if bred and handled properly.


"Ghanaians are crazy for bushmeat, they will hunt for bushmeat as long as there is some, so we asked ourselves: if we have this market demand, how can we satisfy it

without destroying the environment?

Grasscutter hunting is a lucrative business, so we need to provide

alternatives or hunters will continue to exhaust grasscutters."

Rita Weidinger, German development agency GTZ

Photo: John Swensson. 2005. Bushmeat Trade in Techiman Ghana. Undergraduate Thesis. Uppsala Univ. ,

Sweden


Length: up to 60 cm (23.6 in.) Weight: up to 9 kg (19.8 lbs) Nat. Habitat: Grassland or Wooded Savanna 2-4 (11-12) young. 80 g (2.8 oz). Fully developed.

Grasscutters or Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) Micro-Livestock of choice in West Africa.


Grasscutters or Cane Rat (Thryonomys swinderianus) Main Advantages:

Picture Source: http://www.eclof.org/english/newhorizon/nheng34/mc09.htm

1. High quality meat considered delicacy by all levels of society.

2.  Grasscutter meat transcends religious prohibitions. Muslims, do not consume rabbit or guinea pig, but eat grasscutter.


Captive Breeding of the most desirable Game Species Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus)

Polygamous group of one male and five female grasscutters in a wire-netting box

(Jori et al. 1995)

Gestation length 152 ± 2 days Random Litter size 4 ± 0.13 animals Sex ratio 1:1 Random weight at birth 135.9 ±1.0 g Annual random abortion rate 2% Annual random stillborn weight

3.4%

Random daily weight gain 12 g Consumption index (food/weight) gain

4.5:1

Main zootechnical parameters in grasscutter production:


Reasons for the economic benefits of Grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus) production (Jori et al. 1995)

1. High demand for game for cultural and other reasons

2. Prices available to grasscutter farmers can be high, particularly in urban markets.

3. Increasing demand for bushmeat often follows urbanization, which leads to depletion of game.

4. Grasscuttter production could help control of hunting by law enforcement, as over-exploitation of wildlife increases.

In West Africa, the number of grasscutters hunted per year is estimated to be 80 million, the equivalent of 300 000 metric tons of meat. If only half of this amount were sold in the market, it would generate an income over $1103 million US $.

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation

2. Ethical Dimension of the Problem Reading: Culture, Ethics & Conservation in Addressing the Bushmeat Crisis in West Africa (Bowman 2001)

The African Perspective:

As logging companies and their trucks have moved deeper into the forest, both urban and rural dwellers now expect fresh bushmeat on a daily basis.

West Africans generally do not keep wild animals as pets but instead view them as a gift from God to be consumed as needed.

Common responses to conservationists: “ I must feed my family, the forest is where I can provide for them and everybody has that right” (Baker 1999) “You Europeans cut down your own forest, yet now you tell us that we must not.”

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation - 2. Ethical Dimension of the Problem

Ethical Dimension of the Problem

Reading: Culture, Ethics & Conservation in Addressing the Bushmeat Crisis in West Africa (Bowman 2001)

Biodiversity Protection is assumed to have a universal moral foundation characteristic to all people, independent of culture and history. But Anthropologists argue that ethical standards are relative to particular cultures, societies and times.

Implications:

Sustainability is not a concept in many African situations.

Sense of impotence in the face of these forces (fatalism).

There often is no concept of suffering in animals.

There may be a strong element of magical/divine belief system.

à Possible Conservation Entry Point: true local needs & wishes…(?)

But: hunters did not like their work (demanding, isolating, dangerous…)


Bowman's Explanatory Concept of the Natural World

Cultural view of

bushmeat

Pragmatic needs for protein, income

History and understanding of

animals/land relations

Symbolic meaning of species, perceived meaning or benefit.

Cultural context. Locus of control (internal vs.

external). Value systems. Exposure to Western culture


Education Campaign in Ghana


Audiovisual: Say No to Bushmeat

Ghana's Campaign to deal with the issue

© 2002 Conservation International, 9 min.

[Warning: Some images may be disturbing to the viewer.]


3. Can Zoos (or the Biodôme) be the Ark

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation

Gerard Durrell

Website: http://www.durrell.org/

Durrell Wildlife Preservation Trust Jersey (Channel Island) Wildlife Park

Conservation Focus on Islands (Madagascar, Comoros, Mauritius, Caribbean etc.)

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation - 3. Can Zoos be the Ark

Aims of the Durrell Trust:

Save more endangered species worldwide Enable Our own cadre of world-class specialist conservationists across all Durrell sites to become more effective in saving species Train more conservationists worldwide in the theory and practice of rescuing species "the Durrell way” Teach children and adults, who visit Durrell in on the Island of Jersey, to understand why biodiversity is vital, and encourage them to make their personal pledges to protect life on earth.

Critique of Captive Breeding (Oates 1999):

Captive Breeding Specialist Group (CBSG) - one of the most expensive IUCN Specialist Groups

Strict Protection of the species’ natural Environment is the most effective conservation measure (K. S. Sankhala, India’s Tiger Project)

George Schaller (The Last Panda): 33/108 captured Pandas died, and not enough control of poaching in their natural habitat.

WFB 074 Lecture 10 - Tropical Forest Conservation - 3. Can Zoos be the Ark

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