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Explanation:
During an expedition into the Congo River Basin in equatorial Africa in
August-September 2004, I traveled down the Ubange River not far from the
confluence with the Congo River and stopped at a riverside market in the
village of Mobenzino. There, I
discovered five turtles tied and being sold as bushmeat
or wild game taken from the forests to be marketed and eaten.
Village market along the Ubange River, western
Democratic Republic of Congo. Fish, turtles, and other
wild game are commonly sold in such places.
These are Forest
Hingebacks -- also called Eroded Hingeback, Serrated Hingeback, Rosy
Hingeback, and Schweigger Hingeback -- and are an example of how wildlife in
parts of the Congo is being used for food and trade.  Use
of wild animals for bushmeat is becoming a dire situation in some parts of
central Africa, as some species are suffering great declines or local
extirpation. In Ghana,
bushmeat is traded through many hands including commercial hunters, farmer
hunters, wholesalers, market traders, and chopbar (cafe) owners. One
study of bushmeat use in Gabon, central Africa, suggests that policy
makers can help curb unsustainable bushmeat use by levying taxes or
imposing stricter law
enforcement. However, there are so many villages in central Africa
that are isolated and far removed from law enforcement centers, and where
people live at poverty levels with poor nutrition. Any answer to
controlling bushmeat consumption must also address problems of health,
nutrition, poverty, and education.
Forest Hingebacks captured and tethered, being
sold as bushmeat.
Information
Bakarr, M. I., G. A. B. da Fonseca, R.
Mittermeier, A. B. Rylands, and K. W. Painemilla. 2001. Hunting and bushmeat
utilization in the African rain forest: perspectives toward a blueprint for
conservation action. Center for Applied Biodiversity Science, Conservation
International, Washington, D.C.
Cowlishaw, G., S. Mendelson, and J. M. Rowcliffe.
2005. Evidence for post-depletion sustainability in a mature bushmeat market.
Journal of Applied Ecology 42(3):460-468.
Cowlishaw, G., S. Mendelson, and J. M. Rowcliffe.
2005. Structure and operation of a bushmeat commodity chain in southwestern
Ghana. Conservation Biology 19(1):139-149.
Crookes, D. J., N. Ankudey, and E. J. Milner-Gulland.
2005. The value of a long-term bushmeat market dataset as an indicator of
system dynamics. Environmental Conservation 32(4):333-339.
Lebreton, M., A. T. Prosser, U. Tamoufe, W. Sateren,
E. Mpoudi-Ngole, J. L. D. Diffo, D. S. Burke, and N. D. Wolfe. 2006. Healthy
hunting in central Africa. Animal Conservation 9(4):372-374.
Marcot, B. G.
2005. Two turtles from western Democratic Republic of the Congo: Pelusios
chapini and Kinixys erosa. World Chelonia Trust Newsletter 8:1-2,8.
(214KB
PDF)
Nielsen, M. R. 2006. Importance, cause and
effect of bushmeat hunting in the Udzungwa Mountains, Tanzania: Implications
for community based wildlife management. Biological Conservation
128(4):509-516.
Robinson, J., and E. Bennett, eds. 2000. Hunting for
sustainability in tropical forests. Columbia University Press, New York City,
New York. 1000 pp.
Wilkie, D. S., M. Starkey, K. Abernethy, E. N. Effa,
P. Telfer, and R. Godoy. 2005. Role of prices and wealth in consumer demand
for bushmeat in Gabon, Central Africa. Conservation Biology 19(1):268-274. Acknowledgments
My thanks to Darrell Senneke, Director of World Chelonian
Trust, and to Chris Tabaka DVM, Paula Morris, and Ken Carlsen for helping to
confirm the identity of this species, and to my Congo colleagues who helped
organize and conduct the expedition.
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