The Bushmeat crisis in West and Central Africa is all too real. This crisis has reached devastating proportions, with many species, not just great apes, being in danger. The Bushmeat Crisis was the main driving force behind the creation of our organization, The Canadian Ape Alliance, and our website. The public must be made aware of this important issue, and we must encourage everyone, from ourselves, to the media, to our politicians, to get involved.

What is the Bushmeat Crisis?
If you are not familiar with what the bushmeat crisis is, it is the slaughter of animals like gorillas, chimpanzees, bonobos, elephants, and other forest animals, for meat. There has always been a minimal amount of subsistence hunting of apes, but it had been maintained at a sustainable level, with the people hunting on the fringes of the forests not touching the animals deep within, and, most importantly, taking only what they needed to survive. Now, with the introduction of foreign logging companies who buy their way into these African countries, the bushmeat crisis is being fuelled by these companies who build logging concessions in pristine, untouched areas, and then introduce roads deep into once unreachable forests, allowing hunters, access to the wildlife there. The new roads now make it easier for the transport of the meat from the forests to the markets, using the logging trucks that carry workers back and forth. These logging companies pay native people to hunt food for their employees; as well, they are supplied with guns and cartridges. There is also a new increased desire to supply this illegal meat for the local markets. Animals that were once hunted just for subsistence, are now being hunted to supply a new increased desire by urban people for bushmeat. It is truly a disturbing situation that we must be aware of.