EAZA and IFAW welcome European Parliament's demand
for action to save Great Apes
IFAW
The European Parliament has showed its support for tackling one of the
greatest threats to wildlife in many parts of the world by voting overwhelmingly
for a resolution on the over-hunting of wild animals for their meat, also
known as the bushmeat crisis.
The recent explosion in unsustainable hunting for the commercial bushmeat
trade, fuelled by the activities of the logging industry, is threatening
the very existence of whole populations of endangered animals including
the great apes and forest elephants. The trade also threatens the food
security of up to 150 million of the world's poorest people living in
forest communities who depend on wild meat for food.
The illegal trade in bushmeat poses a real threat to human health, both
in Africa and in Europe where large quantities of bushmeat are estimated
to be illegally imported. Contact with wild meat results in an increased
risk of animal-derived diseases - for example HIV, monkey pox (similar
to smallpox) and ebola.
The EP resolution comes in response to a 1.9 million-signature petition
organised by the European Association of Zoos and Aquaria (EAZA) and supported
by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW). It calls for an EU
Bushmeat Strategy plan aimed at conserving biodiversity and protecting
those species threatened by the bushmeat trade. The resolution also demands
a ban on the import of products of companies which act illegally and aggravate
the bushmeat problem by allowing their workers to hunt for bushmeat or
use their transport facilities to transport poached bushmeat.
Dr. Bryan Carroll, Chairman of the EAZA Bushmeat Steering Committee,
declared: "The Parliament has responded to the 1.9 million European
voters who called for action to address the bushmeat crisis, but it is
now for the European Commission to implement the will of the Parliament.
We call upon the Parliament and the Member States to ensure that funding
is available to support actions called for under this resolution."
Hemmo Muntingh, IFAW's Senior Policy Adviser, emphasised: "At
this very moment in Africa, regionally, locally and nationally, species
and populations of species are becoming extinct. It is essential to give
absolute priority to the bushmeat issue and allocate considerably more
financial support for biodiversity conservation, protected areas and National
Parks in the EU budget and in the European Development Fund."
Irish MEP, Proinsias De Rossa, who drafted the Petitions Committee Report
and Resolution said that "this report has been drawn up in response
to a Petition which was signed by 1.9 million citizens of the European
Union - a major demonstration of participative democracy." He
stressed that "the level of hunting of bushmeat, primarily in
Africa, is seriously endangering the livelihoods of many communities who
rely on wild animal meat as a key element of their diet."
British MEP, John Corrie, who drafted the opinion for the EP Development
Committee said: "Unless there is urgent
control of the hunting of bushmeat, the ecology
of the forests of Africa, and many other countries,
face disaster, leading to demise in their tourist
industry." Of even greater concern to
him is "the potential worldwide disaster
from infectious diseases, such as ebola and new
strains of HIV, by the illegal export of bushmeat."
Click
here for a complete list of books about bushmeat
|
