IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group

1. IUCN/SSC African Elephant Specialist Group The Impacts of Elephant Meat Trade in Central Africa Photo: N. Nichols 2011

2. Why are more elephants being poached? • Elephant poaching has been increasing in recent years. • The assumption has been that it is for ivory. Photo: K. Ammann Photo: D. Stiles

3. But how important is meat in elephant poaching? Photo: K. Ammann

4. Project Objectives • Examine the dynamics, scale and impact of the elephant meat trade throughout the Central African sub-region. • Determine the relationship of the trade in elephant meat and ivory as factors in illegal killing of elephants. • Investigate the linkages between multiple resource extraction (timber, minerals) and the levels of elephant meat and ivory trade and how ‘development’ interventions influence meat consumption and ivory off-take at the site, city, and regional level.

5. Project Case Study Sites Source: IUCN

6. Four categories of actors to interview Photo: L. Rieu Middlemen Hunters Photo: D. Stiles Photo: K. Ammann Consumers Vendors

7. Data collection questionnaires • We wanted standardized data, so devised questionnaires that all country case studies would use • Different questionnaire for each category: hunter, middleman, vendor and consumer

8. Data entry sheets

9. Type of Elephant Hunters All 54 elephant hunters interviewed were commercial hunters

11. Primary motivation for killing elephants

12. Elephant hunterweapons WWF 12-gauge Shotguns AK-47 Kalashnikov K. Ammann WWF WWF Home-made bullet for 12-gauge shotgun .458 rifle and ammunition

13. Smoking elephant meat • Because elephant meat is usually transported long distances by foot, it is first smoked to preserve it. • It is transported in 30-40 kg packs on the backs of porters. Photos: K. Ammann

14. Maximum income from meat reported sold

15. Transporting meat from forest to market Meat is transported to urban markets by a variety of means: - foot - bicycle - pirogue (on rivers) - motorbike - commercial truck - bus - private car - government vehicle - logging truck - train - airplane Photos: WCS

16. Middlemen There are many different types of middlemen. Meat: First middleman, usually in or near forest, will transport meat to a large village or town and sell to market vendors or second middleman. Second middleman, will transport meat further away to regional or national urban centre. Ivory: The majority are the commanditaire, those who pay hunters to kill elephants for tusks. Hunters working for themselves will sell onto known ivory traders in the area, usually businessmen, religious leaders, government officials. Commanditaire will sell onto either urban ivory workshops for use in manufacturing or to exporters, who smuggle tusks either to other African countries or abroad, usually Asia. Foot, bicycle, moto Car, bus, lorry, logging truck, train, plane

17. Vendors - selling elephant meat • Because of its illegal nature, elephant meat is often sold clandestinely door-to-door. • It can be found under the counter in markets. • Or, even openly in supermarkets or restaurants where laws are not enforced. R. Lokoka L. Rieu Photo: K. Ammann

18. Comparative retail prices of different meatsUSD/kg

19. Elephant Meat Social Network and Commodity Chain

20. Hunter’s potential gross income from one elephant(3000-6000 kg)

21. Maximum potential earnings from meat and ivory from one elephant USD • Small elephant - 1000 to 1500 kg • Medium elephant - 2000 to 3000 kg • Large elephant - 4000 to 6000 kg WWF

22. So why don’t elephant hunters go after meat more often? Security Logistics S. Randolph Hunters answered: • Logistics - elephants are often killed far from any road or river, making transport of large quantities of meat difficult. • Security - if large quantities are carried, many porters are needed. NGOs and government are using informers. This increases the chances of being reported to wildlife rangers or police. • Location - if an elephant is killed near a road or settlement, meat is not smoked as it takes too long and the camp might be discovered or the smoke could alert ranger patrols.

23. Country DifferencesAverage price of elephant meat Most expensive - Congo Second - Cameroon USD K. Ammann Town City Ouesso Brazzaville Yokadouma Yaounde Berberati Bangui Mambasa Kisangani

24. Country DifferencesMaximum percentage of meat carried away from a hunt % K. Ammann

25. Preliminary Conclusions • Ivory is still the primary motivation for killing elephants for most hunters. • Because tusks can be removed quickly and transported easily. • Ivory has a much higher price to weight ratio. • Most elephant hunters are paid to do so by rich people (commanditaire). • Commanditairedo not want to expend time and effort to track meat sales. • Motivation could change if transport for meat becomes easier and law enforcement declines. • There is high latent demand for elephant meat. • Lack of availability is the main reason more consumers do not eat elephant. • Logging roads, mines and infrastructure projects attract immigrants, which promote bushmeat hunting. K. Ammann

26. The Next Step • Spend more time with hunters to create trust; visit kill sites to collect geo-referenced data; find out who hunters work for and sell to • Collect better data on quantities and prices of elephant meat at the hunter, middleman and vendor levels • Identify and gain cooperation of the commanditaireto obtain data and information on networks • Determine how much meat is consumed locally compared to that transported to urban markets - what is the potential for increase? • Learn more about the motivations and attitudes of those involved in the killing and trafficking. WCS D. Stiles