Bush meat trade cuts into Abuja’s huge petty biz

Weekly Trust, in following the trend, has discovered Bwari, Kuje and Dutsen Alhaji mountain as the hunting grounds, while the sales outlets are the strategic points within and outskirt of the city. A mini depot of the bush meat business is situated along the Kubwa expressway, by the Federal Civil Service College. Weekly Trust learnt […]

Weekly Trust, in following the trend, has discovered Bwari, Kuje and Dutsen Alhaji mountain as the hunting grounds, while the sales outlets are the strategic points within and outskirt of the city. A mini depot of the bush meat business is situated along the Kubwa expressway, by the Federal Civil Service College.

Weekly Trust learnt that the bush meat dealers have a way of processing the animals before selling to buyers. Some of the animals are smoked so that if they are not purchased, they would not decay, while others are left fresh, although this is as a result of how some customers want their bush meat to be.

Malam Zubairu Abdullahi who deals in bush meat along the Kubwa expressway told Weekly Trust that he smokes his products because of the duration it takes for the meat to get dry. He said the fresh product is relatively cheaper, but with some exceptions, “like the grass cutters, which is more expensive.’’

Hunters and bush meat retailers in Abuja said business is all year round for them, however, it peaks during the dry season. They deal in almost every available specie, from mammal, birds and reptiles.

The retailers said grass cutters are the most popular and patronized bush meat among their customers, followed by Maxwell’s duiker, the bushytailed porcupine, and the bush pig. The grass cutter was also the most widely sold and the most expensive species, followed by the giant rat, monkeys, and Maxwell’s duiker.

Weekly Trust learnt that the bush meat trade is highly commercialized, and substantial profits accrue to these middlemen.

Zubairu told Weekly Trust that he makes an average of 2,000 naira profit daily in his transactions. “Depending on the traffic in the market as well as the demand, sometimes, I make more than that.’’

He further revealed that hunting and selling bush meat generate “good revenue’’ and is used by many subsistence farmers, loggers and others on low wages to supplement their income.

“It is a delicacy and people like it more than other meats,”   Zubairu said.

“The cholesterol is very low. There is no religious barrier. Everybody likes grasscutter; our Muslim brothers don’t like pork but some of them like grasscutters.

“Bush meat production and marketing provide employment and income to a large number of rural people. Like me, I came from my village in Jigawa State, my family is still there. At least, this business is helping me to take care of my family and myself here in Abuja. I know a lot of other people in the same category.”

According to Zubairu, “When hunters turn in their catch, they are often sold to village collectors (wholesale traders) who in turn sell the produce to urban retail traders. Sometimes, they are sold directly by the hunters at the roadsides or to us (middle men).’’

A hunter, Adamu Sule said they are specially trained for the hunting job. ‘‘We have different methods, so also are other hunters elsewhere. It depends largely on the terrain where you operate; there are quiet and noisy strategies. Both are good and produce results. We can set fire to the bush, which is common among the strategies. As we do that, we would then get ready at strategic locations (exit route of the animals) with our weapons such as dane guns, machetes, bows and arrows, clubs etc to hunt them.’’

Health implication:

Numerous viruses can infect a number of species of vertebrates and therefore the infection of humans with a virus acquired from animals can be a common occurrence. Many animals can act as vectors for diseases as well as being affected by the disease themselves. A range of etiological agents can be acquired from exotic pets, and from the handling and consumption of bush meat, for example Ebola, SARS and HEV.

Studies have documented that chimpanzees can be infected with a number of viruses (hepatitis B virus and simian foamy virus) and that humans come into close contact with these viruses in the bush meat trade.

In Nigeria, the demand for bush meat is increasing, thus the value to the business is growing. This is reflected by the increasing prices: in urban markets, bush meat prices have risen by as much as 400% in recent years according to the Federal Department of Forestry in a report.

 In most cases the prices of bush meat are higher than domestic meat prices. These prices are partly attributable to transportation and processing (when smoked) costs, which can add 25% to 50% to the original producer price. However, high prices for bush meat are primarily due to increasing consumer demands and dwindling supplies.