The socio-economic drivers of bushmeat consumption during the West African Ebola crisis

Abstract

Bushmeat represents an important source of animal protein for humans in tropical Africa. Unsustainable bushmeat hunting is a major threat to wildlife and its consumption is associated with an increased risk of acquiring zoonotic diseases, such as Ebola virus disease (EVD). During the recent EVD outbreak in West Africa, it is likely that human dietary behavior and local attitudes toward bushmeat consumption changed in response to the crisis, and that the rate of change depended on prevailing socio-economic conditions, including wealth and education. In this study, we therefore investigated the effects of income, education, and literacy on changes in bushmeat consumption during the crisis, as well as complementary changes in daily meal frequency, food diversity and bushmeat preference. More specifically, we tested whether wealthier households with more educated household heads decreased their consumption of bushmeat during the EVD crisis, and whether their daily meal frequency and food diversity remained constant. We used Generalized Linear Mixed Models to analyze interview data from two nationwide household surveys across Liberia. We found an overall decrease in bushmeat consumption during the crisis across all income levels. However, the rate of bushmeat consumption in high-income households decreased less than in low-income households. Daily meal frequency decreased during the crisis, and the diversity of food items and preferences for bushmeat species remained constant. Our multidisciplinary approach to study the impact of EVD can be applied to assess how other disasters affect social-ecological systems and improve our understanding and the management of future crises.

Audience research as a cornerstone of demand management interventions for illegal wildlife products: Demarketing sea turtle meat and eggs

“…In terms of drivers, few of the demographic and psychographic variables tested were found to be predictors of the different sensitive behaviors of interest. This is surprising as demographic variables such as wealth have been found by other studies to be predictors of wildmeat consumption elsewhere in the Gulf of Guinea (East, Kümpel, Milner‐Gulland, & Rowcliffe, ), but it also reinforces the weak predictive power of commonly examined variables such as age or gender in the context of wildmeat consumption (Ordaz‐Németh et al, ). In terms of psychographic variables, and in the context of rural communities, social norms were important predictors of demand and consumption of consuming sea turtle meat and eggs, although this effect was not present for urban dwellers.…”

A Planetary Health Perspective on Agroforestry in Sub-Saharan Africa

“…95 Development of roads to transport agricultural products increases proximity and access to wildlife habitats and has been associated with increased bushmeat consumption. 107,108 Conversely, increases in socioeconomic status due to agroforestry can lead to improvements in housing quality, infrastructure, and access to healthcare, factors associated with decreased risk of malaria in Africa. 109…”

Audience segmentation to improve targeting of conservation interventions for hunters

“…Overhunting is a primary conservation threat in Liberia. Wild meat is consumed widely (Junker et al 2015;Ordaz-Németh et al 2017) and thus provides substantial income for hunters and traders (Hoyt 2004;Greengrass 2016). Hunting of species listed as protected under the Wildlife Act (1988, revised 2016) is illegal, as is hunting in national parks, although both types of hunting are widespread (S.J., personal observation).…”