Are you sure of what’s on your plate?
Nyama ya musanga (bushmeat) is a delicacy Zambians have enjoyed for centuries, but evidence for why we might want to do away with it, at least most of it, is mounting.
Some of this evidence comes from asking important questions like; where does bushmeat come from? How is it harvested? How is it preserved and how is it transported? It is this last question that we will focus on today. One unsettling assertion put forward by conservationists is that many people who eat bushmeat often have no idea how it moves from where it was harvested to their plate.
How is that so? Well, in the past, people lived close to wildlife so meat harvested from wild animals didn’t have to be transported over long distances to reach consumers. However, many people now live in urban cities far from wildlife, meaning bushmeat has to be transported long distances from its source to urban cities, where demand is high.
So how does that happen exactly? To understand how bushmeat is transported we first have to deal with another unsettling fact. Much of what is consumed today in urban areas like Lusaka and the Copperbelt is actually illegal bushmeat. This meat is harvested illegally from national parks and other protected areas by unscrupulous poachers. Poachers and traders that sell illegal bushmeat know that being found with unlicensed (illegal) bushmeat is a crime. Under the Zambia Wildlife Act no. 14 of 2015, possession of illegal bushmeat can attract fines of up to K120 000 and prison sentences of up to 10 years, depending on the species involved.
To safely move their illegal contraband, poachers and traders have developed sophisticated ways of hiding illegal bushmeat from law enforcement. This includes concealing it in bags of charcoal or agricultural produce. While this cleverness means they sometimes manage to avoid getting caught, it puts many other people at great risk.
This includes drivers of public or private vehicles who unknowingly carry illegal products because people who hire them don’t warn them of potential danger. That is what happened this Tuesday. A transporter who had been hired to deliver 40 bags of charcoal from Mumbwa to Lusaka got the shock of his life when his vehicle was stopped at a checkpoint in Mumbwa. After a thorough check, officers discovered over 30 plastic bags containing illegal bushmeat concealed in two of the charcoal bags he was carrying. His vehicle was impounded, the charcoal and bushmeat confiscated. On top of that, he was asked to stay behind to assist with investigations. The driver was totally unaware that he was carrying illegal bushmeat and immediately took to social media to warn his fellow drivers to be careful with transporting charcoal.
Another group that is at an even greater risk from the antics of the illegal bushmeat industry are the consumers of illegal bushmeat. As mentioned earlier, poachers and traders go to great lengths to avoid getting caught. Some of the tricks used to conceal illegal bushmeat, like the one above, make it unsuitable for consumption as chances of the meat being contaminated are extremely high.
Apart from concealing it in charcoal bags, poachers also often hide it in car boots, mixed with many other non-edible things. Sometimes the meat is kept in these tight spaces for days on end. Illegal bushmeat, especially when transported in unsanitary conditions, can be a virus vector and a cause of countless diseases and serious allergic reactions. If you think this is an exaggeration, consider this; some experts are now warning that Africa’s appetite for illegal bushmeat could trigger the next global pandemic.
The good news is that you actually don’t have to give up bushmeat entirely, the Government has put in place a mechanism for people to buy legal, safe, Zambian game meat. Since it is legal, it is transported and sold openly. Many legal game meat outlets that have opened up across the country are Zambian owned. You can support Zambia’s legal game meat industry and protect yourself and your family by simply making the switch. Buy legal Zambian game meat.
To get more information on legal game meat, visit https://www.facebook.com/ThisIsNotAGameZm.