Hostname: page-component-8448b6f56d-wq2xx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-04-20T06:43:20.970Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Quantity and significance of wild meat off-take by a rural community in the Eastern Cape, South Africa

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 December 2009

SARAH A. KASCHULA  and
CHARLIE M. SHACKLETON
SARAH A. KASCHULA*
Affiliation:
Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, Eastern Cape, South Africa
CHARLIE M. SHACKLETON
Affiliation:
Environmental Science, Rhodes University, Grahamstown 6140, Eastern Cape, South Africa
*
*Correspondence: Dr Sarah Kaschula tel: +1347 768 9188 e-mail: sk3306@columbia.edu
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Summary

When compared to tropical forest zones in west and central Africa, off-take of wild meat from savannah and grassland biomes by local rural communities has not been well assessed. This case study of wild meat collection activities within a rural community in the Mount Frere region of the Eastern Cape (South Africa) uses last-catch records derived from 50 wild meat gatherers to calculate average off-take of taxa, species and fresh mass of wild meat per collection event. When per-event off take is overlaid onto household hunting frequency data, annual off-take would be 268.6 kg km−2 yr−1 or 3 kg person−1 yr−1 presuming constant off-take over an annual period. Monetary value of off-take would be South African R 307 (US$ 39) per household annually. For some species, off-take weight per km2 shows similar values to data from tropical forest zones, but high human population densities tend to dilute off-takes to less nutritionally significant amounts at the per person scale. However, unlike many tropical zones, none of the species harvested can be considered high-priority conservation species. Even densely populated and heavily harvested communal lands appear to offer high wild meat off-takes from low conservation priority species.

Keywords

bushmeatwild meatfood securitygrasslandhuntingrural livelihoodssavannahSouth Africa
Type
Papers
Information
Environmental Conservation , Volume 36 , Issue 3 , September 2009 , pp. 192 - 200
Copyright
Copyright © Foundation for Environmental Conservation 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Alvard, M., Robinson, J.G., Redford, K.H. & Kaplan, H. (1997) The sustainability of subsistence hunting in the Neotropics. Conservation Biology 11: 977–982.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Anderson, P.C. (1996) The population dynamics and ecological role of the springhare Pedetes capensis (Forster, 1778) in the Kimberley area, Northern Cape Province, South Africa. PhD thesis, University of the Orange Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa.Google Scholar
Asibey, E.O.A. (1974) Wildlife as a source of protein in Africa south of the Sahara. Biological Conservation 6: 32–9.Google Scholar
Bennett, E.L. & Robinson, J.G. (2000) Hunting of wildlife in tropical forests. Implications for biodiversity and forest peoples. Environment Department Papers Biodiversity Series: Impact Studies. Report, World Bank, Washington, DC, USA.Google Scholar
Bodmer, R.E. (1995) Managing Amazonian wildlife: biological correlates of game choice by detribalized hunters. Ecological Applications 5: 872–877.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brown, D. & Williams, A. (2003) The case for bushmeat as a component of development policy: issues and challenges. International Forestry Review 5: 148–155.Google Scholar
Carpaneto, G.M. & Fusari, A. (2000) Subsistence hunting and bushmeat exploitation in central-western Tanzania. Biodiversity and Conservation 9: 1572–85.Google Scholar
Child, G. & Wilson, V. (1964) Delayed effects of tsetse control hunting on duiker population. Journal of Wildlife Management 28: 1866–8.Google Scholar
Cowlishaw, G., Mendelson, S. & Rowcliffe, J. M (2005) Structure and operation of a bushmeat commodity chain in Southwestern Ghana. Conservation Biology 19: 139–149.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Merode, E., Homewood, K. & Cowlishaw, G. (2004) The value of bushmeat and other wild foods to rural households living in extreme poverty in Democratic Republic of Congo. Biological Conservation 118: 573–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
De Swardt, C. (2004) Report of the socio-economic status of Mt Frere households in 2002. Program for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.Google Scholar
Department of Agriculture (2007) Report No. 1030. Establishment of statutory measure and determination of guideline prices: levy on cattle, sheep, goats, meat products, hides and skins, in accordance with the marketing of agricultural products act, 1996 (act no. 47 of 1996). Staatskoerant 29: 3–13.Google Scholar
Dovie, D.B., Shackleton, C.M. & Witkowski, E.T. (2002) Direct-use values of woodland resources consumed and traded in a South African village. International Journal of Sustainable Development and World Ecology 9: 269–283.Google Scholar
East, T., Kumel, N.F., Milner-Gulland, E.J. & Rowcliff, M. (2005) Determinants of urban bushmeat consumption in Río Muni, Equatorial Guinea. Biological Conservation 126: 215.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Edderai, D. & Dame, M. (2006) A census of the commercial bushmeat market in Yaoundé, Cameroon. Oryx 40: 472–5.Google Scholar
Fa, J.E., Currie, D. & Meeuwig, J. (2003) Bushmeat and food security in the Congo Basin: linkages between wildlife and people's future. Environmental Conservation 30: 71–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fa, J.E., Ryan, S.F. & Bell, D.J. (2005) Hunting vulnerability, ecological characteristics and harvest rates of bushmeat species in afrotropical forests. Biological Conservation 121: 167–76.Google Scholar
Feer, F. (1993) The potential for sustainable hunting and rearing of game in tropical forests. In: Tropical Forests, People and Food, ed. Hladick, A., Hladik, C.M., Pagezy, H. & Linares, O.F., pp. 691–708. Paris, France: The Parthenon Publishing Group.Google Scholar
Ferreira, A.V. & Hoffman, L.C. (2001) Body and carcass composition of the common duiker. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 31: 63–6.Google Scholar
Hart, J.A. (2000) Impact and sustainability of indigenous hunting in the Ituri Forest, Congo-Zaire: a comparison of unhunted and hunted duiker populations. In: Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests, ed. Robinson, J.G. & Bennett, E., pp. 106–53. New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Hayward, M.W., White, R.M., Mabandla, K.M. & Bukeye, P. (2005) Mammalian fauna of indigenous forest in the Transkei region of South Africa: an overdue survey. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 35: 117–24.Google Scholar
Hofer, H., Campbell, K.L.I., East, M. & Huish, S.A. (1996) The impact of game meat hunting on target and non-target species in the Serengeti. In: The Exploitation of Mammal Populations, ed. Taylor, V.J. & Dunstone, N., pp. 117–146. London, UK: Chapman and Hall.Google Scholar
Holmern, T., Muya, J. & Skaft, E. (2007) Local law enforcement and illegal bushmeat hunting outside the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Environmental Conservation 34: 55–63.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
IUCN (2008) The 2007 IUCN red list of threatened species [www document]. URL http://www.iucnredlist.org/Google Scholar
Jerozolimski, A. & Peres, C.A. (2003) Bringing home the biggest bacon: a cross-site analysis of the structure of hunter-kill profiles in Neotropical forests. Biological Conservation 111: 415–25.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kepe, T. (1997) Environmental entitlements in Mkambati: livelihoods, social institutions and environmental change on the wild coast of the Eastern Cape. Report for the Program for Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS), University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa.Google Scholar
Kruger, M., Sayed, N., Langenhoven, M., & Holing, F. (2005) Composition of South African Foods. Pretoria, South Africa: Human Sciences Research Council.Google Scholar
Kingdon, J. (2003) The Kingdon Field Guide to African Mammals. San Diego, CA, USA: Academic Press.Google Scholar
Lawes, M., Eeley, H., Shackleton, C.M. & Geach, B. (2004) South African forests and woodlands: recurring themes in integrating policy, people and practice. In: Indigenous Forests and Woodlands in South Africa: Policy, People and Practice, ed. Lawes, M., Eeley, H., Shackleton, C.M. & Geach, B., pp. 815–831. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press.Google Scholar
Ling, S., Kumpel, N. & Albrechtsen, L. (2002) No new recipes for bushmeat. Oryx 36: 330.Google Scholar
Lloyd, P. (1999) The science and policy behind managing sandgrouse for sustainable utilisation in southern Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 29: 35–42.Google Scholar
Loibooki, M., Holfer, H., Campbell, L. I. & East, M.L. (2002) Bushmeat hunting by communities adjacent to the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania: the importance of livestock ownership and alternative sources of protein and income. Environmental Conservation 29: 391–8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lowassa, A., Magimbi, S. & Kaltenborn, B. (2004) The effect of wildlife conservation on food dependency of local people around Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Report for the Tanzania Wildlife Research Institute, Arusha, Tanzania.Google Scholar
Manika, S. & Trivedi, M. (2002) Links between biodiversity consumption, livelihoods and food security: the sustainable use of wild species for meat. Report for the IUCN species survival commission, Gland, Switzerland.Google Scholar
McGarry, D.K. & Shackleton, C.M. (2009 a) Is HIV/AIDS jeopardizing biodiversity? Environmental Conservation 36: 5–7.Google Scholar
McGarry, D.K. & Shackleton, C.M. (2009 b) Children navigating rural poverty: rural children's use of wild resources to counteract food insecurity in the Eastern Cape province, South Africa. Journal of Children and Poverty 15: 19–37.Google Scholar
Mena, V.P., Stallings, J.R., Regalado, B.J. & Cueva, L.R. (2000) The sustainability of current hunting practices by the Huaorani. In: Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forest, ed. Robinson, J.G. & Bennett, E.L., pp. 57–78. New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Milner-Gulland, E.J. & Bennett, E. (2003) Wild meat: the bigger picture. Trends in Ecology and Evolution 18: 351–7.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mucina, L. & Rutherford, C. (2006) Vegetation Atlas of South Africa, Lesotho and Swaziland. Pretoria, South Africa: South African National Biodiversity Institute.Google Scholar
Noss, A.J. (1998) The impacts of cable snare hunting on wildlife populations in the forests of the Central African Republic. Conservation Biology 12: 390–8.Google Scholar
Peres, C.A. & Dolman, P. (2000) Density compensation in neotropical primate communities: evidence from 56 hunted and non-hunted Amazonian forests of varying productivity. Oecologia 122: 175–189.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Quickelberge, C.D. (1989) Birds of the Transkei: an Ornithological History and Annotated Catalogue of all Recorded Species. Durban, South Africa: Robprint.Google Scholar
Robinson, J.G. & Bennett, E.L. (2000) Hunting for Sustainability in Tropical Forests. New York, NY, USA: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Robinson, J.G. & Bennett, E.L. (2004) Having your wildlife and eating it too: an analysis of hunting sustainability across tropical ecosystems. Animal Conservation 7: 397–408.Google Scholar
Rowe-Rowe, D.T. (1978) The small carnivores of Natal. Lammergeyer 25: 1–48.Google Scholar
Schmidt, J. L. (1984) Common duiker measurements in Natal and Zambia: an example of Bergmann's and Allen's rules. Lammergeyer 32: 8–10.Google Scholar
Sen, A.R., Santra, A. & Karim, S.A. (2004) Carcass yield, composition and meat quality attributes of sheep and goat under semiarid conditions. Meat Science 66: 757–63.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Seydack, A.H.W. (1983) Age assessment of the bushpig Potamochoerus porcus Linn. 1758 in the southern Cape. Masters Thesis, University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.Google Scholar
Shackleton, C.M. & Shackleton, S.E. (2004) The importance of non-timber forest products in rural livelihood security and as safety-nets: evidence from South Africa. South African Journal of Science 100: 658–64.Google Scholar
Shackleton, C.M. & Shackleton, S.E. (2006) Household wealth status and natural resource use in the Kat River valley, South Africa. Ecological Economics 57: 306–17.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Shackleton, S.E., Shackleton, C.M., Netshiluvhi, T.R., Geach, B.G.S., Balance, A. & Fairbanks, D.H K. (2002 a) Use patterns and value of savanna resources in three rural villages in South Africa. Economic Botany 56: 110–130.Google Scholar
Shackleton, C.M., Shackleton, S.E., Ntshudu, M. & Ntzebeza, J.N. (2002 b) Direct use values of non-timber forest products from three rural villages in the Kat River Valley, Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Journal of Tropical Forest Products 8: 45–65.Google Scholar
Shackleton, C.M., Timmermans, H.G., Nongwe, N., Hamer, N. & Palmer, R. (2007) Direct-use values of non-timber forest products from two areas on the Transkei Wild Coast. Agrekon 46: 135–156.Google Scholar
Sinclair, I., Hockey, P., Tarboton, W., Hayman, P. & Arlott, N. (2003) Birds of Southern Africa. Princeton Field Guides. New Jersey, USA: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Skinner, J.D. & Chimimba, C.T. (2005) The Mammals of the Southern African Subregion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Soga, J.H. (1931) The Ama-Xhosa: Life and Customs. Cape Town, South Africa: Lovedale Press.Google Scholar
Statistics South Africa (2008) P0301.1 – Community Survey 2007 Statistical Release Basic Results Municipalities. Report for Statistics South Africa, Pretoria, South Africa.Google Scholar
Steel, E.A. (1994) Study of the value and volume of bushmeat commerce in Gabon. Report for the World Wildlife Fund, Libreville, Gabon.Google Scholar
Stuart, C.T. (1981) Notes on the mammalian carnivores of the Cape Province, South Africa. Bontebok 1: 1–58.Google Scholar
Stuart, C.T. & Stuart, T. (1992) Sexual dimorphism of caracal Felis caracal in Cape Province. Journal of African Zoology 106: 537–8.Google Scholar
Taylor, P.J. (1998) The Smaller Mammals of KwaZulu-Natal. Pietermaritzburg, South Africa: University of Natal Press.Google Scholar
Twine, W., Moshe, D., Netshiluvhi, T.R. & Siphugu, T. (2003) Consumption and direct-use values of savanna bio-resources used by rural households in Mametja, a semi-arid area of Limpopo province, South Africa. South African Journal of Science 99: 467–73.Google Scholar
van Aarde, R.J. (1985) Age determination of Cape Porcupines, Hystrix africaeaustralis. South African Journal of Zoology 20: 232–6.Google Scholar
van Teylingen, K.E., & Kerley, G.I.H. (1995) Habitat characteristics of increasing and decreasing oribi subpopulations in Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. South African Journal of Wildlife Research 25: 118.Google Scholar
White, R.M. (2000) Interactions between indigenous mammals and human populations around Transkei forests. In: Towards Sustainable Management Based on Scientific Understanding of Forests and Woodlands: Proceedings of the Natural Forests and Woodlands Symposium II, Kynsna, ed. Seydack, A.H.W., Vermeulen, W.J. & Vermeulen, C., pp. 115–123. Pretoria, South Africa: Department of Water Affairs and Forestry.Google Scholar
White, R.M. (2001) Patterns of utilisation of indigenous fauna and other natural resources by local communities from Transkei Forests. Report for the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria, South Africa.Google Scholar
White, R.M. (2004) People and forest fauna: a case study from coastal dune forest in the Transkei region of the Eastern Cape. In: Indigenous Forest and Woodlands in South Africa. Policy, People and Practice, ed. Lawes, M.J., Eeley, H.A.C., Shackleton, C.M. & Geach, B., pp. 553–73. Durban, South Africa: University of KwaZulu Natal Press.Google Scholar
White, R.M. & Nyengane, B.N. (1998) Interactions between indigenous mammals and the human population in the Transkei. In: Proceedings of the Symposium of the Zoological Society of South Africa, unedited, pp. 34–49. Durban, South Africa: Zoological Society of South Africa.Google Scholar
Wilkie, D.S. & Carpenter, J. (1999) Bushmeat hunting in the Congo basin: an assessment for impacts and options for mitigation. Biodiversity and Conservation 8: 927–55.Google Scholar