Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T10:11:54.107Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Preferences and present demand for bushmeat in north Cameroon: some implications for wildlife conservation

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2009

Hanson Langmia Njiforti
Hanson Langmia Njiforti*
Affiliation:
Institute of Animal and Veterinary Research (IRZV), Post Box 77 Maroua, Cameroon
*
* Hanson Langmia Njiforti, The Centre for Environmental Studies and Development in Cameroon, Post Box 410, Maroua, Cameroon Tel: +237 29 30 61 Fax: +237 29 33 91
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

Although bushmeat is known locally to be an important source of protein, large-scale patterns of demand are poorly defined. One area for which information is especially lacking is northern Cameroon, and this study therefore conducted a survey of 345 households in this region. Information sought from questionnaire interviews included the frequency of consumption, species preferences, and prices of bushmeat, together with people's perceptions of trends in the wildlife population involved. Bushmeat was estimated to represent c. 24% of the animal protein intake in the region and respondents generally preferred bushmeat to meat from domestic livestock. North African porcupine (Hystrix cristata) was the most preferred species, closely followed by guinea fowl (Numida meleagris), and Buffon's kob (Kobus kob). There was a tendency for the price of a kilogramme of bushmeat to decrease with the weight of the animal. A majority of the respondents said they perceived declines in some wild animal species within the last 10 years. For those who eat bushmeat one or more times a week, there was a tendency for villagers to eat more bushmeat than for people in towns. A number of measures should be taken, including wildlife farming and domestication and anti-poaching measures in national parks.

Keywords

bushmeatCameroonconservationnational parkwildlifebiodiversity
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 23 , Issue 2 , June 1996 , pp. 149 - 155
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 1996

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adeola, M.O. (1992) Importance of wild animals and their parts in the culture, religious festivals, and traditional medicine, of Nigeria. Environmental Conservation 19: 125–34.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Adeola, M.O. & Decker, E. (1987) Wildlife utilization in rural Nigeria. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium and Conference on Wildlife Management in Sub-Saharan Africa, pp. 512–21. IGF/CIC, Harare, Zimbabwe.Google Scholar
Afolayan, T.A. (1980) A synopsis of wildlife conservation in Nigeria. Environmental Conservation 7: 207–12.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ajayi, S.S. (1971) Wildlife as a source of protein in Nigeria: some priorities for development. Nigerian Field 36: 115–27.Google Scholar
Ajayi, S.S. (1979) Food and animal production from tropical forest: utilization of wildlife and by-products in West Africa. FAO, Rome, Italy.Google Scholar
Asibey, E.O.A. (1974) Wildlife as a source of protein in Africa south of the Sahara. Biological Conservation 6: 32–9.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ayeni, J.S.O. (1977) Attitudes to utilization and management of wildlife in rural area. Unpublished paper presented at the 7th Annual Conference of the Forestry Association of Nigeria, Kano City.Google Scholar
Ayensu, E.S. (1984) The Afrotropical realm. In: National Parks, Conservation and Development: the Role of Protected Areas in Sustaining Society, ed. McNeely, J.A. & Miller, K.R., pp. 80–6., The Smithsonian Institution, Washington.Google Scholar
Balakrishnan, M. & Ndhlovu, D.E. (1992) Wildlife utilization and local people: a case-study in upper Lupande Game Management Area, Zambia. Environmental Conservation 19: 135–44.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Balinga, V.S. (1978) Competitive uses of wildlife. Unasylva 29: 22–5.Google Scholar
Depierre, E. & Vivien, J. (1992) Mammifères sauvages du Cameroun. Office National des Forêts, Paris: 237 pp.Google Scholar
De Vos, A. (1978) Game as food: a report on its significance in Africa and Latin America. Unasylva 29: 2–12.Google Scholar
Jeffrey, S. (1977) New Liberia uses wildlife. Oryx 14: 168–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Krostitz, W. (1979) The new international market for game meat. Unasylva 31: 32–6.Google Scholar
Martin, G.H.G. (1983) Bushmeat in Nigeria as a natural resource with environmental implication. Environmental Conservation 10: 125–32.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Njiforti, H.L., Schrader, T.H. & Toornstra, F.H. (1991) LEARN: a methodological challenge for rapid environmental assessment. Landscape and Urban Planning 20: 173–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Njiforti, H.L. & Tchamba, N.M. (1993) Conflict in Cameroon: Parks for or against people. In: The Law of the Mother: Protecting Indigenous Peoples in Protected Areas, ed. Kemf, E., pp. 173–8. San Francisco: Sierra Club Books.Google Scholar
Ojeda, R.A. & Marcs, M.A. (1982) Conservation of South American mammals: Argentina as a paradigm. In: Mammalian biology in South America, Pymatuning Symposium on Ecology, 6, ed. Marcs, M.A. & Genoways, H.H., pp. 505–21. Pittsburgh, PA: University of Pittsburgh.Google Scholar
Prcscott-Allen, R. & Prcscott-Allen, C. (1986) What's Wildlife Worth? London: Earthscan: 92 pp.Google Scholar
Robinson, J.G. & Redford, K.H. (1991) Sustainable harvesting of Neotropical forest mammals. In: Neotropical Wildlife Use and Conservation, ed. Robinson, J.G. & Redford, K.H., pp. 415–29. Chicago: University of Chicago.Google Scholar
Rothy, H.H. (1968) Game utilization in Rhodesia in 1964. Mammalia 30: 397–423.Google Scholar
Thys, E. & Ekembe, T. (1992) Elevage citadin des petits ruminants à Maroua (Province de l'Extrêmc-Nord Cameroun). Cahiers Agricultures 1: 249–55.Google Scholar
Von Richter, W. (1969) Report to the Government of Botswana on a survey of wild animal hide and skin industry. UNDP/FAO No. TA 2637, FAO, Rome, Italy: 46 pp.Google Scholar