The term bushmeat refers to meat taken from wild animals hunted for human consumption. A wide range of species are affected by the bushmeat trade, and while many animals hunted are small mammals such as cane rats and porcupines, larger species are also targeted. These include gorillas, chimpanzees, elephants, monkeys, antelope, crocodiles, and snakes, among many others.

Great apes, including gorillas and chimpanzees, are particularly vulnerable to the bushmeat trade due to their slow reproductive rates, with females typically giving birth only once every three to five years. Hunting great apes is illegal, yet their meat is often considered a delicacy, and the high prices it commands mean that wildlife protection laws are frequently ignored.

Hunting wild animals for food has taken place in African forests for centuries, traditionally using simple tools and limited to small numbers to support local families. Today, the bushmeat trade has changed dramatically. Hunters now travel deep into forests using logging roads, often armed with firearms, and may kill entire animal groups. Carcasses are frequently smoked to conceal evidence before being transported back to towns and cities. While hunters carry out the killing, the largest profits are typically made further along the supply chain, often outside Africa.

Once largely confined to parts of Africa, Asia, and South America, the consumption of bushmeat has increasingly become an international issue. Demand has grown in cities such as London, Paris, and New York, where bushmeat can command very high prices. This international demand fuels continued hunting and accelerates the destruction of wildlife populations and forest ecosystems across Africa.

Deforestation