The African vulture trade involves the poaching, trafficking, and illegal sale of vultures and vulture parts for bushmeat and for ritual and religious use, like traditional medicines, in Sub-Saharan Africa. This illegal trade of vultures and vulture parts is contributing to a population crisis on the continent. In 2017, the IUCN Red List categorized 7 of Africa's 11 vulture species as globally endangered or critically endangered.CMS Raptors (2017) Multi-Species Action Plan to Conserve African-Eurasian Vultures (Vulture MsAP), Summary. UN Environment, Convention on Migratory Species Office - Abu Dhabi. http://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/document/cms_cop12_doc.24.1.4_annex3_vulture-msap_e.pdf Recent research suggests that 90% of vulture species declines in Africa may be due to a combination of poisoning and illegal wildlife trade for medicinal use and/or bushmeat. All trade of African vultures is illegal, as these birds are protected by international laws.
African vulture trade falls under the broader spectrum of wildlife trade, with both national and international trade occurring. Vultures are sometimes specifically targeted for bushmeat consumption or traditional belief use. Poachers also target vultures, even when they are not harvesting the vultures for bushmeat or belief use purposes. Since vultures circle over carcasses, they can be used as sentinels, alerting wildlife authorities of poaching events. Ivory poachers and rhino horn poachers have thus targeted vultures to reduce the likelihood of being caught.
Bushmeat
Bushmeat is meat harvested from non-domesticated animals including mammals, amphibians, reptiles, and birds. Poachers target vulture species in sub-Saharan Africa for bushmeat harvest and consumption. Poaching and harvest of vultures for market trade usually involves poisoning the birds by baiting livestock and wildlife carcasses with agrochemicals. This attracts the vultures to feed, as they are obligate scavengers. The birds eat the poisoned meat and die, making the harvest easy. However, the poisons the vultures ingest are passed along through the food chain which places the humans that consume these birds also at risk for poisoning. The two leading causes for vulture deaths are poisoning and trade in traditional medicine, these two causes make up 90% of reported deaths.
Southern Africa There is a scarcity in the literature regarding the use of vultures as bushmeat in Southern Africa. Mentions of bushmeat consumption in Southern Africa do exist in the literature, as families in the region are reported as saying in a study on the use of natural resources, that they consume bushmeat a few times a year. However the specific use of vultures for bushmeat is not often discussed. The existing literature points to the existence of wildlife ranches in South Africa that contribute to the local economy, privately owned game ranches and Transfrontier Conservation Areas as a possible contributors to this gap.
The literature also indicates that the region of Southern Africa is a hub for illegal wildlife trafficking and the illegal wildlife market. Birds are mentioned as one of the groups of animals most significantly impacted by the illegal wildlife trade. This indicates that while there is no specific mention of consumption of vultures as bushmeat, birds are still being moved throughout the region and consumption or use elsewhere is still a driver for the activity.
East Africa
While other regions of Africa have higher incidence of poisoning for bushmeat consumption, the practice also exists in East Africa. Specific countries, such as Kenya have experienced high rates of bird deaths from poisoning related to bush meat trade, with over 3,000 deaths reported in a 10-month period. Countries in East Africa, such as Tanzania, have seen increased bushmeat consumption due to a need for protein and income. However, there is no specific data regarding the sale of vultures in Tanzania's markets.
The limited reporting of vultures used as bushmeat may indicate the minimal numbers of vultures sold for food or represent a lack of published research on this topic in East Africa. This is similar to the lack of documentation available in Southern Africa.
West Africa
West Africa consists of the following 15 countries: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cabo Verde, Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Togo. Of these western countries, some have fairly stable vulture populations such as the Hooded Vultures of The Gambia and Guinea-Bissau.D L Ogada & R Buij (2011) Large declines of the Hooded Vulture Necrosyrtes monachus across its African range, Ostrich, 82:2, 101-113, DOI: 10.2989/00306525.2011.603464 On the other hand, there are countries like Senegal which has regions that have faced 80% vulture decline in the last half century. The trade of vultures for bushmeat, as well as belief use, is the primary factor for the decline of vulture population in West Africa.
Like many other animals, vultures found in West Africa are threatened by human-wildlife conflict. A study done throughout the continent found that although vulture losses could be seen everywhere, the highest total loss per year were in West and East Africa. The killing of many species is an integral part of human livelihood in the region. Human pressures on bushmeat populations are growing more rapidly than national population statistics suggest.Barnes, R. F. (2002). The bushmeat boom and bust in West and Central Africa. Oryx, 36(3), 236-242. Over time the hunting of bushmeat has morphed from traditional subsistence to commercial trade. An increasing population and spread of urbanization has been thought to be one of the leading causes of increases in commercial bushmeat sales. Hunting bushmeat in West Africa is also an important part of the livelihood for many people who live there. It is also a big part of the culture in Central and West Africa because bushmeat is their most important source of protein. Important as this is for the humans who rely on the bushmeat, it puts the survival of many species of vultures found in West Africa at risk.
There are many impacts associated with the vulture bushmeat market. Some purchasers believe that vulture parts would help them be cured from any diseases or illness they are enduring. Impacts on the environment are also a result of bushmeat acquisition in West Africa. Specifically habitat disturbance, level of protection, hunting pressure, and distance to market have reduced forests throughout the region. The consumption of bushmeat has also affected the wildlife population, but has also raised deadly diseases known as the Ebola virus. Human life is another risk due to bushmeat being eaten when it is known to be a non dietary supplement of solid food. There is a link between education and income status that evaluates why consumers in Africa are choosing bushmeat specifically. There is no large scale regional effort to address the bushmeat problem in West Africa currently.
Liberia
In Liberia, when conducting the experiment to test out the theory of socio-economic factors for bushmeat consumption, it was found that monthly income, years of education, and literacy were all factors that led to the purchases. Due to the lack of knowledge and monetary funds, poor income families were forced to obtain the wild animal meat in order to feast and gain protein.
Central Africa Vultures in Central Africa are being used as bushmeat and the market for vulture meat is growing. Due to the great vulnerability of vultures increasing "prosecutions and hunting pressures" in Central Africa has led to a heavy decline of the vulture populations and increase of vulture bushmeat in Central African markets. Although vultures are used for a variety of reasons in Central Africa, most are used as bushmeat and sold at bushmeat markets. Most bushmeat markets sell large bodied vultures which are mainly killed by poison. In a study done in areas of Nigeria and Cameroon, it is estimated that more than 900,000 reptiles, birds, and mammals are sold each year which is approximately 12,000 tonnes of terrestrial vertebrates. 8.42 tonnes of that was bird bushmeat, and vultures made up most of that. Most of the vultures found in the study were being sold in rural areas of Cameroon. Hooded and large bodied vultures are some of the most sold raptors. Combined with Black kite they make up 41% of the raptor bushmeat market in West and Central Africa. In the bushmeat market, the most frequently traded species are those with scavenging behavior, generalist or savannah habitat use, and an afrotropical breeding range. Approximately half of the vultures sold at bushmeat markets are on the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List for threatened and endangered species.
Belief use Poachers also harvest vultures in sub-Saharan Africa to sell their parts to people for belief use practices, such as traditional medicine, African vudon, and witchcraft. As with bushmeat harvests, African vultures sold for belief use are usually hunted using poisoned baits. Therefore, when belief use practitioners consume the vulture or vulture parts as part of their activities, they also ingest the poisons used to kill the vulture.
Vultures in sub-Saharan Africa are known for their tremendous eyesight, and many believe their body parts can be used to see into the future. Some South African belief users inhale smoke from burned vulture brains to improve cognitive abilities or to improve their luck.
Southern Africa
South Africa As it stands, a greater part of the literature addressing belief use in the southern region of Africa comes from South Africa. Many South Africans do not view traditional medicine as a secondary choice to Western medicine, but rather a better or parallel treatment for ailments that Western medicines do not adequately treat.
The use of vultures for traditional medicine is a prominent feature of some South African cultures, such as the Zulu people. In his study of muthi and its impacts on vultures, McKean explains some of the reasoning provided for vulture use. "Research confirms that vultures are used... for a range of purposes, but are believed to be most effective for providing clairvoyant powers, foresight, and increased intelligence". Approximately 160 vultures are sold per year in eastern South Africa alone, contributing to an estimated 59,000 consumption events of various vulture parts. The harvesting of vultures for the traditional medicine market on this scale significantly impacts vulture species population numbers. White-headed and Lappet-faced vultures could disappear entirely in approximately 27 years if drastic changes are not made to increase protective measures for these birds.
Lesotho Much like its neighboring country South Africa, in Lesotho, vultures are believed to have supernatural powers and to personify insight and power. In a study done by Beilis and Esterhuizen, parts used for belief use ranged from vulture eyes and hearts to feathers and bones. It was observed that wings and feathers were least popular while parts such as brains and eyes were more desirable to consumers. The parts sold by healers seemed to only be Cape Griffon vulture parts.
Only 11% of the 318 registered traditional healers in the capital of Lesotho sold vulture parts in 1998. Healers that were interviewed testified to the fact that they only used one vulture a year, which would translate to 35 vultures being killed in a year. But this does not bring into account unregistered healers or the high demand that exists during elections or significant events of that nature. Beilis and Esterhuizen found that if each healer used one more vulture, it would have the potential to disrupt the breeding process of vultures in the country.
Zambia