In Africa, wildlife raises the risk of deadly diseases. It doesn't have to
The story from our colleague was familiar: He watched as Makaite, Tefu and the other men of the Andilukbo clan of Efe bow hunters returned empty handed. It was the third day in a row that they had gone hunting for forest antelope and not caught anything. A leaf bag filled with mushrooms and two giant tree snails was all that seven men had to show for over 200 person-hours of grueling work.
In the dense tropical forest near Wamba in northeastern Democratic Republic of Congo, Makaite has watched as outsiders strip his traditional lands of wildlife to supply a long-distance market for bushmeat that sees it transported 250 miles by road to Kisangani, and at times, a further 950 miles downriver to the capital Kinshasa.… Seguir leyendo »