Luxury bushmeat trade threatens lemur conservation

NATUREVol 46124 September 2009


Meredith A. Barrett Box 90338,
University Program in Ecology,
Duke University, Durham,
North Carolina 27705, USA
e-mail: meredith.barrett@duke.edu
Jonah Ratsimbazafy Durrell Wildlife
Conservation Trust, BP 8511,
Antananarivo 101, Madagascar
e-mail: jonah.ratsimbazafy@
durrell.org


Luxury bushmeat
trade threatens
lemur conservation
SIR — Shocking new proof of an
emerging trade in lemur bushmeat
in Madagascar (see http://tinyurl.
com/mqsx7w) is refocusing
attention on the conservation
and health challenges in one
of the world’s most important
biodiversity hotspots.
The growth of this market,
in which lemurs are sold as a
delicacy to luxury consumers,
could mean extinction for alreadyendangered
lemur species, which
are found only in Madagascar.
Furthermore, as in other countries,
bushmeat hunting carries serious
risks to public health by fostering
emergence of disease.
Madagascar has experienced
an upsurge in environmental
crime since its political upheaval
in March this year. Increasing
illegal harvesting of precious
hardwoods and animal trafficking
bodes poorly for the future of
Madagascar’s already-degraded
environment, where 90% of its
original forest cover has been lost.
Political chaos and the withdrawal
of foreign aid mean that these
environmental crimes have
continued almost unchecked.
Russell Mittermeier, president
of Conservation International,
has warned that certain lemur
species, such as the goldencrowned
sifaka (Propithecus
tattersalli), could vanish as a result
of hunting for the new market.
There may be as many as 99 lemur
species in Madagascar (R. A.
Mittermeier et al. Intl. J. Primatol.
29, 1607–1656; 2008). Wiping
out any of these would disrupt the
ecological balance and undermine
the country’s ecotourism industry.
Some 75% of emerging
diseases have zoonotic origins
(L. H. Taylor et al. Phil. Trans.
R. Soc. Lond. B 356, 983–989;
2001). Ebola and simian foamy
virus outbreaks, for example,
as well as HIV, have been
traced to bushmeat hunting
and butchering. The increase
in human–wildlife contact in
Madagascar’s degraded forests,
along with its extreme biodiversity
and wide distribution of domestic
animals, could enhance the risk of
disease emergence and spread,
potentially to a global level.
The country’s interim
government has responded
to the crisis by firing several
forestry officials, but more
cohesive enforcement is needed.
Mittermeier has urged the
international community to
reinstate conservation funding
to Madagascar, in order to save
this pinnacle of biodiversity.
With 20% of the world’s
primate species in peril, and
with increased risks of disease
emergence, an integrated solution
must and can be achieved by
conservation, public health

Bats as bushmeat: a global review

Title: Bats as bushmeat: a global review Author(s):Simon Mickleburgh, Waylen Kerry, Racey PaulOnline Publication date: 2009 Volume: 43 Start page:217Publication: OryxDOI: 10.1017/S0030605308000938URL: http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=5487716&fulltextType=RV&fileId=S0030605308000938

Abstract A questionnaire survey and literature review
revealed the extent of hunting of bats for bushmeat in
the Old World tropics. High levels of offtake were reported
throughout Asia, the Pacific islands and some Western
Indian Ocean islands, where fruit bats of the genus
Pteropus are eaten extensively. Most hunting in Africa was
reported in western states and the largest fruit bat Eidolon
helvum was preferred. Insectivorous bats are also eaten,
particularly Tadarida in Asia. Hunting is both for local
consumption and commercial, sometimes involving crossborder
transactions. The high levels of hunting reported
and the low reproductive rate of bats indicate there are
likely to be severe negative effects on bat populations, and
declines of several species are documented. Although there
has been only one reported attempt to manage offtake, this
indicates that it is possible and apparently successful. Furthermore,
voluntary controls on hunting have halted declines
in bat numbers. There have been several initiatives
to reduce hunting pressure and conserve threatened bat
species, mainly on islands that, when sustained, have been
successful. More education projects and community-based
conservation initiatives should be encouraged together
with further attempts at sustainable harvesting in situations
where disease risk has been evaluated.
Keywords Bats, bushmeat, commercial hunting, Eidolon,
Pteropus, sustainability, Tadarida.
This paper contains supplementary material that can be
found online at http://journals.cambridge.org