Copyright 2001 Reuters
September 17, 2001
By Tansa Musa

YAOUNDE (Reuters) - Efforts to save rare African animals from hunting will fail unless poor people have something else to eat, delegates at a conservation conference in Cameroon said on Monday.

The poaching of different kinds of wildlife -- known as bushmeat -- is on the increase in the central African country and its neighbors, where everything from tiny rodents to elephants turn up on menus.

``Former taboos over food are giving way to a blind commerce in all kinds of species,'' Jean-Baptiste Baskouda, a top official from Cameroon's Ministry of Environment and Forestry, said.

``But if it is important to preserve these animals in our countries for ecological reasons, it is still important to remember that bushmeat is the main source of protein for some of our people,'' he said.

The conference is discussing how to balance conservation against demand for bushmeat and was organized with help from the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the U.N.'s Food and Agricultural Organization and the World Conservation Union.

Wild animals have always been an important source of meat for those living in Africa's forests and savannahs.

Bushmeat is often cheaper and more easily available than meat from domestic animals, both in the countryside and mushrooming cities, and increasing numbers of hunters depend on the trade.

But Sue Mainka, coordinator of the Species Program of the World Conservation Union, warned many species were now being killed much faster than they could reproduce.

``It is naive to pretend that solutions can be based on biodiversity conservation alone,'' she said.

``Any response must address the human dimensions of the problem, the alleviation of poverty and hunger. We cannot possibly hope to win the battle against extinction, if the situation for people and their livelihoods does not improve.'' Error: Unable to read footer file.