Wildlife in Africa and Cameroon, in particular, is under severe threat as appetite for snakes, pangolins, monkeys, ape, and other threatened species grow. As these consumption patterns continue unabated; it places considerable stress on wildlife already facing daunting odds from multiple illegal activities and practices. Trading Illegal Bushmeat in the open In late June 2016, […]

Wildlife in Africa and Cameroon, in particular, is under severe threat as appetite for snakes, pangolins, monkeys, ape, and other threatened species grow. As these consumption patterns continue unabated; it places considerable stress on wildlife already facing daunting odds from multiple illegal activities and practices.

Trading Illegal Bushmeat in the open

In late June 2016, I set out to investigate the increasing demand of bushmeat consumption in the main cities of Cameroon. The biodiversity-rich town of Bertoua, the capital of the East Region of Cameroon, located about 350 KMs from the nation’s capital, Yaounde, seemed an obvious choice for me.

At about 11 am on June 28, dwellers of the main market of the town gathered around an unusual scene of screaming women.

Through the noises of their voices which drowned some low-toned bars of old school Makossa music emanating from old tattered speakers of a pub in which they were standing, one could only hear their grievance through keen selective attention.

As one of them yelled, “they know we are selling illegal bush meat and secretly took photos of us standing behind them.” Another cried out loud “they even asked me a few questions to which I provided answers assuming they were customers.” “We sell forbidden animal species, they want to put us in trouble,” shouted yet another bushmeat vendor. While some of them simply cursed, others warned: “that is how some people bring death upon themselves.”

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