A non-governmental organization, Centred on Wildlife Conservation, WildAid has given reasons Nigerians should stop consuming game popularly known as bushmeat.
The West Africa representative of WildAid, Mr Linus Unah, who spoke at the launch of its Campaign against Bushmeat Consumption in Lagos, on Tuesday said that indiscriminate consumption of bushmeat will lead to the extinction of some animals.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that a report commissioned by WildAid in the last quarter of 2020 exposed widespread bushmeat consumption in Nigeria, especially across Lagos, Abuja, Port Harcourt and Calabar.
Unah stated that the reports revealed that people consume bushmeat mainly because of its taste, cultural dictates and health benefits, while disregarding its potential links to zoonotic diseases, including COVID-19.
“We need to educate urban Nigerians, who typically live far away from forests where bushmeat is often harvested, about the risks of zoonotic diseases, the conservation impact of bushmeat trade and the fact that current wildlife laws prohibit the hunting and trade of several species,
“Faced with enormous threats including hunting for bushmeat, wildlife species in Nigeria have declined dramatically over the past 50 years.
“’Today, Nigeria has fewer than 50 lions, 100 gorillas, 500 elephants and between 1,400 to 2,300 chimpanzees left in the wild.
“’Between 2016 and 2019, over half of the Pangolin scales seized globally come from Nigeria.
“The illegal wildlife trade is estimated to be worth 7 billion dollars and 23 billion dollars annually,’’ Unah said.
While giving her opening remarks, Dr Muhtari Aminu-Kano, the Director-General of Nigerian Conservation Foundation, represented by Stephen Aina, Species Programme Coordinator, NCF, Aminu-Kano called for the conservation of wildlife to conserve balance in the eco-system.
Mrs Stephanie Linus who is also a Nigerian Veteran Actress, and also WildAid Bushmeat Campaign Ambassador, called for the collaboration of everyone in the campaign against indiscriminate consumption of bushmeat.