Post date: Oct 23, 2012 2:20:32 PM
A Ghanaian man found illegally selling Cane rat meat popularly known as grasscutter, and other bush delicacies in a food market in east London, sparked outrage in the UK. Back in Ghana, laws meant to regulate bush meat trade are hardly enforced and the meat is readily available in markets across the country.
ACCRA, GHANA (REUTERS) - At the Kantamanto market, one of the busiest trade centres in Ghana, men sweat over cooking flames as they smoke different types of wild animals. Bush meat is a delicacy in Ghana and is readily available in most parts of the country.
Cane rats, popularly known as grasscutters, Maxwell dinkers and antelopes are in high demand, captured by hunters from various regions of Ghana.As well as being a key part of the diet in both rural and urban areas, they also make for brisk business.
According to Ghana Wild Life Division, the bush meat sector employs about 300,000 people, either directly or indirectly.
After the animal is smoked, restaurants known as chop bars either fry or boil them as a delicacy to customers who pay about 3 US dollars per meal.
"Bush meat is good because the animals live in the bush, they eat grass and other things and because of that, their meat tastes better than that of domestic animals," saidYaw Adu Yeboah, a chop bar customer.
Bush meat trade in Ghana is not regulated by the government and hunters kill wild animals at will.
Unscrupulous businessmen have even taken advantage of the loopholes in legislation and have taken the bush meat business to Europe.
Recently, a Ghanaian man was found in possession of large quantities of smoked Cane rat meat, which he was selling unlawfully to the public in east London.
According to the Chartered Institute of Environmental Health, UK's experts in meat hygiene, the meat had not even undergone inspection, posing a health risk to those who consumed it.
Bush meat lovers back in Ghana are not too concerned that the meat they enjoy almost daily could be dangerous. They believe bush meat has medicinal qualities, and because it has less fat than that of domestic animals, it is a healthy choice.
"I feel that when I eat the grass cutter it improves my wellbeing, in the village even the animal's faeces are used to make soup and when you eat it, it tastes good," saidAndrews Oduro, a chop bar customer.
Conservationists have warned that the bush meat industry in Ghana is not sustainable and wildlife populations are being decimated.
The Ghana Wildlife Division puts a ban on hunting from August 1 to December 1 every year, known as the 'closed season', to enable wildlife to reproduce, wean their young ones and prepare them for maturation. But due to poor implementation, hunters openly defy the rule.
Dora Agyeikum has been selling bush meat at Kantamanto market for 12 years. She says the demand for the commodity has fallen because prices are on the rise.
"These days buying bush meat is very expensive because our suppliers say operating in the bush is also expensive, so customers don't buy as much as they used to," she said.
Ghana Wildlife Division has established 18 protected areas across the country, as a way to preserve certain animal species. The Division is also encouraging Ghanaians to invest in breeding programs in order to raise the animal population.
Annual production levels of bush meat range between 220,000-350,000 metric tons, most of which is hunted illegally.
Government's laxity in curbing local offenders has now turned them into international lawbreakers.
Cletus Nateg, a senior wildlife officer, said the law is designed to discourage the sale of bush meat abroad. Legal channels exist but they are long and cumbersome.
"Before you can export bush meat you must meet some stringent conditions, you will need an export permit, from the Wild life Division, you will need permits from the veterinary certifying that the product is wholesome, if it is not, we will not give you that permit. We do have situations whereby some people try to smuggle bush meat out in their personal language and what not, and I don't classify that as, (pause), its not official," he said.
Mustapha Seidu, a project co-ordinator in the west Africa forest programme says the trade of bush meat is not traceable because the laws meant to control it are not being upheld.
"The biggest problem we have in our resource management portfolio, forestry and Wildlife, is the enforcement of law, its as simple as that, you can have the law but if you don't implement it, its even worse than if you didn't have it," he said.
Conservationists say if the bush meat trade is managed properly, it could provide food for Ghanaians, whilst protecting local wildlife populations.
According to the Ghanaian Forestry Commission 2009 figures, bush meat injects about 300 million US dollars annually into the economy.