writes about how illegal trading and hunting of animals continue to undermine wildlife tourism
One of the traders threw the dead civet toward Samuel, anticipating a quick bargain but he did not seem interested in the ‘bushmeat’ which appeared too burnt and unappealing. “In Yorubaland, native doctors demand the pangolin; they say it is used for the treatment of pregnant women. We used to sell some at between N3,000 and N5,000, depending on the size, before we were warned by the government to stop selling pangolins.’’The consumption of wild animals as meat in Nigeria has increased over the years, leaving many of the country’s fauna, including monitor lizards, antelopes, crocodiles, porcupines, tortoises, and pythons, endangered or at risk of extinction.
“Nigeria has a problem,” the founder, Greenfingers Wildlife Conservation Initiative, Chinedu Mogbo, said of persistent endangering of wildlife. Twelve years ago, he founded the organisation, focusing on the rescue, protection, and rehabilitation of Nigeria’s endangered fauna at a wildlife sanctuary, their release into protected spaces, and wildlife education.
Indeed, the recurrence of seizures by the Nigerian government underscores how deep-rooted the problem is. In February 2020, the Nigeria Customs Service said it intercepted smuggled pangolin scales valued at N10.26bn along the Isheri axis of the Lagos-Ibadan Expressway. In August 2021, it intercepted a haul of pangolin scales and elephant tusks worth N22.3bn in Lagos.
“Unfortunately, some of these things are not being done by locals; they are done by foreigners who come to Nigeria and use the locals to fuel the trade. The hunters are just part of the long chain. Some of the people mainly involved have a strong network where they can even pull the string of government officials.
“We noticed that there are non-Nigerians, like a case that is being prosecuted in court. Foreign nationals are engaged in the trade. It is notorious because they have been tracked even by the international police. Eventually, we got them arrested and they are currently being prosecuted in our courts.”It was further gathered that while the government’s efforts to stamp out illegal wildlife trade in Nigeria appear to be yielding some results, the perpetrators are moving their activities online.
Corroborating this, Fagbohun said relevant agencies in countries such as the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Austria, Switzerland, Denmark, Germany, and Chile were properly resourced both in terms of manpower and requisite facilities, with technology playing a major role to monitor and detect illicit wildlife trade.Decrying the impact of wildlife depletion occasioned by the illegal trade in Nigeria, Fagbohun explained that biosecurity risk was a major problem.
Brazil made $103.5bn from tourism and travel in 2021, contributing 6.4 per cent to its GDP, while Nigeria earned $16m from the sector, accounting for 3.6 per cent of the nation’s GDP, the World Travel and Tourism Council said in its 2021 economic impact report. Also, a professor of Wildlife Ecology, Nutrition, Ecotourism, and Hospitality at the Federal University of Technology, Akure, Ondo State, Adebisi Adeyemo, noted that the government must be intentional about protecting wildlife and promoting tourism.
Don't b rude, wildlife tourism! we r not animals. Where r d tourists coming from or going to. Since when does man have to b gawking at food when hungry. Abeg get something doing