Wildlife Is Not The Problem, Humans Are
Illegal hunting of wildlife has had a lot of negative impacts on wildlife populations. Early this year we grasped that the threat of illegal hunting to human health is real. This is based on the findings from the World Health Organization regarding the close relationship between COVID-19 and illegally trafficked pangolins.
There has been an increased risk of spreading infectious diseases when illegal wildlife products like bushmeat are moved from poacher, to trader to consumer. Some facts that the public might not consider in this illegal process are:
- poachers have no way of determining the health of the animals they hunt
- poachers process these animals in the bush with no access to sanitary facilities and use unhygienic transportation methods – bushmeat is often concealed in bags of charcoal or maize, for many days, before it reaches the consumer
Dr Jackson, a senior veterinary doctor from the Department of National Parks and Wildlife (DNPW), notes that these factors significantly increase the risk of distributing infections among humans.
Consuming such meat puts us all in harm’s way. Poachers should in turn be treated as a threat to public health. COVID-19 has not been the only Zoonotic disease encountered in Zambia. We have had cases of anthrax in Eastern Province as a result of consuming unauthorized wildlife products, such as hippo meat. Rabies cases have occurred in the Kafue ecosystem due to the use of illegal hunting with domestic dogs in Kafue National Park.
If wildlife is left undisturbed by humans, the outbreaks of zoonotic diseases would greatly reduce. The excessive and unregulated interaction between wildlife and poachers is one of the main ways in which we have opened up a path to introduce zoonotic diseases into our diets, notes Department of National Park and wildlife’s Principal veterinary officer- Dr Ng’Ombwa.
So protect yourself and say NO to illegal bushmeat. To find out more follow This Is Not A Game Campaign