Contact:
Koen Brouwer (EAZA) - Tel: +31 20 520 07 53;
Email: koen.brouwer@nvdzoos.nl
Günther Pauls (IFAW) - Tel: +32 (0)2 282 06 96; Email: gpauls@ifaw.org
Editors: For more information visit www.ifaw.org and www.eaza.net
EAZA and IFAW welcome European Parliament's demand for action to save Great Apes and other forest wildlife endangered by over-hunting
(Brussels - 14 January 2004) - Today, 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.
Dr. Bryan Carroll, Chairman of the EAZA Bushmeat Steering Committee, declared: "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. We call upon the Parliament and the Member States to ensure that funding is available to support actions called for under this resolution."
Hemmo Muntingh, IFAW's Senior Policy Adviser, emphasised: "At this very moment in Africa, regionally, locally and nationally, species and populations of species are becoming extinct. 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 said: "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 is "the potential worldwide disaster from infectious diseases, such as ebola and new strains of HIV, by the illegal export of bushmeat."
End
Notes to editors:
- The bushmeat crisis is not limited to Africa. In Asia, many species are unsustainably exploited. The trade in wildlife in South America is also growing and wild animals such as monkeys and birds are for sale.
- Uncontrolled overhunting of even common species to supply urban population centres will lead to "empty forest syndrome", thus depriving impoverished rural communities of a vital food resource in the future.
- The explosion in logging (mainly carried out by European and south east Asian companies) has facilitated the growth of the bushmeat trade by opening up previously remote areas of forest, introducing thousands of hungry workers to game-rich areas, and providing transport for hunters on logging trucks to lucrative city markets.
- Highly endangered species, such as gorillas, bonobos and chimpanzees, make up only a small fraction of the trade. However, they are slow breeders and cannot withstand even very low levels of hunting. Chimpanzee numbers are down from maybe two million a century ago to just 150,000 today. There may be as few as 50,000 bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) left. Chimpanzees have recently been shown to share 99.4% of their genes with humans.
- Current levels of meat consumption in Central Africa are as high as or higher than in Europe or the United States. But with the region's population growth, the bushmeat trade is unsustainable and threatens food security in the region.
- Bushmeat poses a risk to human health. Consumption of primate meat has been linked to the spread of HIV, ebola haemorrhagic fever and other diseases, which can be fatal in humans, such as monkey pox.
- A recent study by the UK Government has revealed that up to 150 million of the world's poor (one eighth of the world's poorest) perceive wildlife to be an important livelihood asset - depending of wildlife for food and income.
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European Association of Zoos
and Aquaria (EAZA) P.O. Box 20164 1000 HD Amsterdam The Netherlands Tel. +31 20 5200753 Fax +31 20 5200754 www.eaza.net |
International Fund for Animal Welfare IFAW EU Office Rue Boduognat 13 1000 Brussels Belgium Tel: + 32 (0)2 230 97 17 Fax: + 32 (0)2 231 04 02 www.ifaw.org |
