Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked wild mammals, yet the drivers of their exploitation vary across regions. This study surveyed 809 hunters and meat vendors in Nigeria—Africa’s largest pangolin trafficking hub—and found that 98% of pangolins are hunted for meat, not scales. Most are captured opportunistically during general hunting, with 71% consumed by hunters and 27% sold locally. Despite global attention on the illegal scale trade, 70% of scales are discarded, and meat fetches three to four times the price of scales. These findings challenge dominant narratives and highlight the need for conservation policies that address local consumption drivers alongside international trafficking.
Tag: bushmeat
The Harvest of Tropical Wildlife for Bushmeat and Traditional Medicine
Bushmeat is not only an important source of fat, micronutrients, and macronutrients, but it also has medicinal uses. Extensive human–wildlife interactions may lead to pathogen exchange and trigger zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, Ebola, and coronavirus disease 2019. In the tropics, bushmeat has become one of the most threatened resources due to widespread habitat loss and overexploitation, largely driven by increased global demand, weak governance, and lack of enforcement. Unsustainable harvesting, consumption, and production practices are common, although drivers are complex and intertwined and vary regionally, pointing to a looming rural nutrition security and wildlife conservation issue. Growing demand in fast urbanizing markets coupled with easy access fuels the illegal trade of bushmeat, medicinal products, and wildlife-based luxury goods. Although bushmeat contributes significantly to rural people’s income and poverty alleviation, overharvesting impacts those who are most dependent on the forest. To balance the rural and cultural importance of bushmeat with conservation and public health priorities, strategies to safeguard tropical biodiversity, sustainable harvest of wildlife with reduced health risk for nutrition and medicine are urgently needed.