Drivers of bushmeat hunting and perception of zoonoses among wildlife hunters and traders in Nigeria

around Oba Hill Forest reserve, Southwest, Nigeria

Short research update

by Omonona, A.O., Adetuga, A.T. and Adetunji, S.A.

in WDA-AME Newsletter 2021, Vol.5, issue 1

The study determined the drivers of bushmeat hunting and perception of zoonoses among wildlife hunters and traders around Oba Hill Forest Reserve (OHFR). Snowball, random and convenience sampling techniques were used to select wildlife hunters (199) and wildlife traders (30) from four randomly-selected communities around the reserve. Data collection was through administration of semi-structured questionnaires, subjected to descriptive and inferential (regression) statistics at α0.05.

Hunting pressure was highest for duikers (48.2%) while market demands were higher (80.0%) for both duiker and Roan antelope. The majority of the wildlife hunters (54.8%) were unaware of zoonotic diseases while most of the wildlife traders (56.7%) were aware. Most wildlife hunters (68.3%) strongly agreed that it is easy to contract zoonoses via butchering and roasting while 53.3% of the wildlife traders disagreed. There is need for the management of Oba Hill Forest Reserve to intensify efforts in conservation education in communities around the reserve.