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 Each year, thousands of chimpanzees, gorillas and bonobos (pygmy chimpanzees) are hunted and killed for sale in meat markets throughout West and Central Africa. While the adults are slaughtered primarily for meat -- the heads and hands are especially prized as trophies -- the youngest chimpanzees who survive the ordeal are sold as pets. As many as 10 adult chimps will die trying to protect an infant from hunters in the wild, even though only one in five babies is ever taken alive. Babies kept in captivity normally become listless and die without their mothers.
Virtually all of the chimpanzee orphans at Chimfunshi are a result of the bushmeat crisis, either having been confiscated directly from poachers or having been repatriated to Africa after years in foreign zoos, circuses, or animal shows.
The bushmeat trade occurs throughout West and Central Africa, but is especially rampant in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Cameroon, Gabon, the Central African Republic, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea, Nigeria, Liberia and Cote d'Ivoire. Equally troubling is the exportation of bushmeat to overseas markets in Europe, with Nigeria, Ghana and Egypt the primary trade routes.
Fifty years ago, approximately 5 million wild chimpanzees occurred in 25 countries across Western and Central Africa. Today, less than 150,000 remain - click here for maps, and are completely extinct in four of those countries. Chimpanzees are also expected to disappear from another five countries within the next few years. Bushmeat claims an estimated 4,000 chimpanzees each year, along with 3,000 gorillas, and several hundred bonobos. In addition, rainforest habitats are being wiped out by unchecked logging, farming and population growth.
HOW TO HELP
The Convention on the International Trade of Endangered Species (CITES) was formed in 1975, and chimpanzees listed as an endangered species (Appendix I). As such, it is illegal to hunt, capture, sell or trade wild chimpanzees, and strict guidelines exist regarding the import and export of captive chimps.
Other resources:
The Bushmeat Crisis Taskforce was formed in 1999, uniting dozens of primate welfare and conservation groups in an effort to halt the bushmeat trade. To find out more, visit The Bushmeat project website at www.bushmeat.org.
In November 2000, President Clinton signed the Great Ape Conservation Act, which grants up to USD $5 million annually to help fight the hunting and deforestation that threatens primates.
CITES formed its own bushmeat working group, and regular updates can be found at http://www.cites.org/eng/prog/bushmeat.shtml
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