Comments on: BUSHMEAT 1 : A Healthy Lunch from the TL2

By: lualaba

lualaba — Tue, 13 May 2008 18:56:37 +0000

[...] dinner at a restaurant, and finger-food down by the river port. This lunch comes down the river,http://lomami.wildlifedirect.org/2008/02/01/bushmeat-1-a-healthy-lunch-from-the-tl2/Lualaba River — Britannica Online EncyclopediaBritannica online encyclopedia article on lualaba [...]

By: THERESA SISKIND

THERESA SISKIND — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 17:13:17 +0000

Thank you Terese and Ashley, for opening my eyes on this issue. I can READ about this, but you guys are there, seeing the reality for yourselves.

By: Ashley Vosper

Ashley Vosper — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 14:03:47 +0000

Just wanted to add something on the birth issue. i knew a guy here who worked with me out in Salonga NP (where I worked before this project). He had a wife who could not have children so he took a second wife to have children with. Here they see nothing wrong with that but if you do not have children they see something very wrong with that. So to do something about birth control here is going to be extremely difficult. They do also have an incredibly high infant mortality rate. I have personally never seen so many funerals for children in my life. Very sad indeed.

By: Terese Hart

Terese Hart — Sun, 03 Feb 2008 01:47:02 +0000

True, very true. Birth control is not widely available. There is a strong fear of taking more permanent steps because of high child mortality. And, alas, still inn many of the dominant groups the worth of a woman is in her fertility. Women who rise above that have had a vertical climb.

By: THERESA SISKIND

THERESA SISKIND — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 23:45:28 +0000

Terese, is practising birth control taboo there, or is it a lack of funding and education? Your previous post highlighted empowering the women, but I learned from the IRC that many women have little or no say in “bedroom issues” which probably leads to many unplanned pregnancies.

By: Terese Hart

Terese Hart — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 23:21:29 +0000

Yes, it is the looming problem. With enough habitat loss from growing and spreading human populations, controlling bushmeat hunting won’t save the animals.
In a city like this one, Kinshasa, the population is young. Whereas a walk down the streets in any US/European city you are seeing a good proportion of people over 40, here you see mainly under 30. I often wonder what kind of lag there will be between better health care and widely available birth control…

By: THERESA SISKIND

THERESA SISKIND — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 20:13:13 +0000

Yes, a sound proposal with goals that can be attainable and measured. That being said, did you guys know that bushmeat can be found on the menus of some of Europe’s capital cities, like Paris (large African population there) and in New York and Los Angeles? Now, we all know that the Hiv Virus originated in African monkeys and then jumped to chimps (who ate the monkeys) and then spread to humans after handling or injesting bushmeat. Yes I said handling, scary eh? The Ebola virus also tranmitted from primates to humans. New simian viruses are now being found in poachers and people who eat bushmeat. Now let’s discuss the 800 pound gorilla (or elephant, since they are both victims here of the bushmeat trade) in the room; the world’s looming population crisis. What to do about it?!

By: Sherri S.

Sherri S. — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 19:08:42 +0000

I agree, Lisa.

By: Lisa, California

Lisa, California — Fri, 01 Feb 2008 14:05:42 +0000

I like the strategy you talk about regarding ending the bushmeat situation. It makes complete sense and seems very doable. Lisa