Douglas Williamson

NAIROBI, Kenya, February 25, 2002 (ENS) - Next time you go to a restaurant in Africa and a dish featuring a wild animal is on the menu, think before you eat, says Douglas Williamson, a wildlife expert with the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.
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"Along with habitat loss, the commercial bushmeat trade is probably the biggest threat to wildlife in Africa," Williamson confirms.

"Rural communities depend on bushmeat because domestic meat is too expensive," says Williamson.
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"The death of what conservationists call 'charismatic' animals attracts publicity," says Williamson.
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"Peak hunting periods coincide with the dry season when vegetation is less dense, which makes the hunting easier," explains Williamson."In one incident in Mozambique, commercial hunters shot more in one night than the whole village ate in a year.But the commercial hunters don't care - they don't live there."

Many developing countries lack capacity to collect taxes or enforce hunting regulations, and bribery of poorly paid local and national officials is a problem.

"Traditional community wildlife management mechanisms have been replaced by state responsibility," Williamson says.

This bush meat trade is growing so fast it will soon be unsustainable, warns Douglas Williamson of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

This bush meat trade is growing so fast it will soon be unsustainable, warns Douglas Williamson of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Fewer species will mean fewer potential medicines.Three-quarters of the top 150 prescription drugs in the US are lab versions of chemicals found in plants, fungi, bacteria and vertebrates.The WHO estimates that more than 60 per cent of the world's population relies on plants for primary healthcare.There are 3000 plant species used in birth control alone.

This bush meat trade is growing so fast it will soon be unsustainable, warns Douglas Williamson of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Fewer species will mean fewer potential medicines.Three-quarters of the top 150 prescription drugs in the US are lab versions of chemicals found in plants, fungi, bacteria and vertebrates.The WHO estimates that more than 60 per cent of the world's population relies on plants for primary healthcare.There are 3000 plant species used in birth control alone.

This bush meat trade is growing so fast it will soon be unsustainable, warns Douglas Williamson of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization.

Her warning echoes that of Douglas Williamson, of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), who says that shrinking populations, particularly of large forest animals, could result in a long-term change in forest ecology, since many plants depend on animals for pollination, seed dispersal and seed germination.

Among the main factors threatening long term supplies of wild meat were increasing population, the use of new technologies such as automatic weapons, the temporary encroachment of large numbers of people displaced by conflicts and the growth of a commercial trade in wild meat,he said.

Her warning echoes that of Douglas Williamson, of the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), who says that shrinking populations, particularly of large forest animals, could result in a long-term change in forest ecology, since many plants depend on animals for pollination, seed dispersal and seed germination.

Among the main factors threatening long term supplies of wild meat were increasing population, the use of new technologies such as automatic weapons, the temporary encroachment of large numbers of people displaced by conflicts and the growth of a commercial trade in wild meat,he said.