European Parliament Votes To Tackle 'Bushmeat' Crisis

On January 15 the European Parliament showed its support for tackling one of the greatest threats to wildlife in many parts of the world by voting overwhelmingly for a resolution on the over-hunting of wild animals for their meat, also known as the bushmeat crisis.

The recent explosion in unsustainable hunting for the commercial bushmeat trade, fuelled by the activities of the logging industry, is threatening the very existence of whole populations of endangered animals including the great apes and forest elephants.

The trade also threatens the food security of up to 150 million of the world's poorest people living in forest communities who depend on wild meat for food.

The illegal trade in bushmeat poses a real threat to human health, both in Africa and in Europe where large quantities of bushmeat are estimated to be illegally imported.

Contact with wild meat results in an increased risk of animal-derived diseases - for example HIV, monkey pox (similar to smallpox) and ebola.

The EP resolution comes in response to a 1.9 million-signature petition organised by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and supported by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW).

It calls for an EU Bushmeat Strategy plan aimed at conserving biodiversity and protecting those species threatened by the bushmeat trade.

The resolution also demands a ban on the import of products of companies which act illegally and aggravate the bushmeat problem by allowing their workers to hunt for bushmeat or use their transport facilities to transport poached bushmeat.

"The Parliament has responded to the 1.9 million European voters who called for action to address the bushmeat crisis, but it is now for the European Commission to implement the will of the Parliament," declared Dr. Bryan Carroll, Chairman of the EAZA Bushmeat Steering Committee. "We call upon the Parliament and the Member States to ensure that funding is available to support actions called for under this resolution."

"At this very moment in Africa, regionally, locally and nationally, species and populations of species are becoming extinct," said IFAW's Senior Policy Adviser Hemmo Muntingh. "It is essential to give absolute priority to the bushmeat issue and allocate considerably more financial support for biodiversity conservation, protected areas and National Parks in the EU budget and in the European Development Fund."

Irish MEP, Proinsias De Rossa, who drafted the Petitions Committee Report and Resolution, said that "this report has been drawn up in response to a Petition which was signed by 1.9 million citizens of the European Union - a major demonstration of participative democracy."

He stressed that "the level of hunting of bushmeat, primarily in Africa, is seriously endangering the livelihoods of many communities who rely of wild animal meat as a key element of their diet."

British MEP, John Corrie, who drafted the opinion for the EP Development Committee, commented: "Unless there is urgent control of the hunting of bushmeat, the ecology of the forests of Africa, and many other countries, face disaster, leading to demise in their tourist industry."

Of even greater concern to him, he said, is "the potential worldwide disaster from infectious diseases, such as ebola and new strains of HIV, by the illegal export of bushmeat."

© 2004 Animal News Center, Inc.