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In the bustling markets of Accra, a kilogram of bushmeat costs more than premium beef, yet consumers consistently choose the wild meat option. This phenomenon, repeated across urban centers throughout Africa, reveals a fundamental truth about protein consumption on the continent: cultural forces often override pure economic logic, creating consumption
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There have been significant changes in wildlife populations and domestic livestock in Kenya from 1960 to the present. Rather than relying on potentially variable absolute numbers, this analysis focuses on documented growth rates and trends for Kenya's wildlife and livestock populations, as reported in available scientific studies. These
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When we think of wildlife conservation, we often picture vast national parks, million-dollar budgets, and international organizations with armies of researchers. However, some of the most powerful conservation stories are written by small-time operators working with limited resources, big hearts, and an unshakeable belief in their mission. The truth is,
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By Zig Mackintosh July 31, 2025 - World Rangers Day In the pre-dawn darkness across Africa's most remote wilderness areas, where few Western tourists ever dare to set foot, thousands of rangers shoulder their rifles, check their radios, don their heavy backpacks, and step into landscapes where a
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Africa's protein markets reveal a fascinating economic paradox: the cheaper product to produce isn't always the more affordable product to buy. Across the continent, bushmeat and beef engage in a complex pricing dance that defies simple economic assumptions, with supply chain efficiency emerging as the decisive
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Illegal activities that pose significant challenges in most of Africa include habitat loss through charcoal production, illicit harvesting of timber, poaching of wildlife, and overfishing of water resources. In the Lugenda Wildlife Reserve (LUWIRE) within the Niassa Special Reserve of northern Mozambique, these issues are being addressed head-on. For several
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6 AM: An antelope dies in a wire snare 200 kilometers from the nearest city. 6 PM: That same antelope is served in an urban restaurant. This is the bushmeat pipeline. What began as local subsistence hunting has evolved into an industrial supply chain. Poachers sell to local traders, who
Anti-Poaching in Action
By Prof Brian Child I believe that the problems afflicting resource-dependent communities in forests and drylands originate from insecurity of person and property. The institution of property in the context of the reinstitutionalization of ungoverned spaces through Community-Based Natural Resource Management (CBNRM), where property has four main purposes: 1. The
When we think of African wildlife crime, we picture this. Poaching. Ivory. International trafficking. But there's a hidden crisis unfolding across Africa that dwarfs these headlines. Every single day, across every habitat. While around 20,000 elephants are killed annually for ivory… …millions of African animals disappear into
An extraordinary partnership in the ancient granite landscape of the Matobo Hills of Western Zimbabwe is proving that private enterprise and community can thrive when wildlife is used sustainably. When the Johnson brothers, Guav and Courteney, partnered with the communal land residents who had long struggled with poverty and limited
Payments for Ecosystem Services (PES) is an approach to conservation that recognizes the economic value of ecosystem services and creates financial incentives for their protection. PES involves transactions where a beneficiary or user of an ecosystem service makes payments to individuals or communities whose land management decisions affect the provision
By Hank's Voice The celebrity led, UK based, Campaign To Ban Trophy Hunting (CBTH) must not be making enough money from selling their ugly T-shirts and peddling their even fouler lies, as they're amping up their antics again, desperately hoping to hoodwink a gullible public and
Located in northern Botswana, a 160-kilometre electric fence encircles the nation's "food basket", but the project's ambitious expansion plans and wildlife controversies reveal the complex matrix of food security in modern Africa. With fertile black cotton soils and an annual rainfall of 600 millimeters,
The SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association has a proactive leadership position on the South African National Lead Task Team (LTT). Here are the key details: SA Hunters' Role: SA Hunters is a founder member of the National Lead Task Team (LTT), one of the task teams of the
Mark Haldane, director of Zambeze Delta Safaris (ZDS), accepts that funding remains the perpetual challenge facing comprehensive anti-poaching operations in Mozambique. The reality is stark: safari operations alone simply don't generate sufficient revenue to sustain both a profitable business and the extensive conservation efforts his organization pursues at
By Lieutenant Colonel Rafael Dilguerian De Oliveira Conceição According to current global statistics, two rangers lose their lives in the line of duty every week, with over 1,000 rangers killed worldwide and many more injured over the last 10 years. Nearly 9 out of 10 African rangers (88.6%
By Prof Brian Child The last few centuries have seen the most rapid transformation of human society in history. The misery of an agrarian economy based on feudal ownership was replaced by the current era of prosperity and personal freedoms that so many of us are fortunate to enjoy. This
The breathtaking scenery of the Matobo Hills in South-western Zimbabwe, with its multitude of massive round granite domes with gigantic boulders of various sizes balanced on top, creating what looks like natural art, has been sculpted over millions of years by sun, wind and water. The hills, known locally as
By Hanks Voice It's difficult to find someone not fascinated by and attracted to hummingbirds. They are universally alluring avian marvels that are highly recognizable, tiny in stature, capable of incredible, almost helicopter-like maneuvers in flight, and bejeweled with stunning iridescent plumage. Sightings of them are coveted in