Is Africa's wildlife being eaten to extinction?

Rapid growth in the global demand for bushmeat is leaving many African species facing the possibility of being eaten out of existence. Whereas traditional bushmeat hunting was a subsistence activity it’s now a multi-billion dollar international trade involving hundreds of species including elephants and primates.

Commercial logging and road building has also given hunters easy access to previously impenetrable African forests, and ready-made transport routes to towns and cities.

It is estimated that more than a quarter of all mammal species hunted for bushmeat are threatened with extinction.

Freshwater turtles in catastrophic decline

It is estimated that over a third of the estimated 280 freshwater turtle species around the world are threatened with extinction.

The unsustainable collection of turtles for food and to supply a lucrative pet trade are believed to be the key drivers behind the worrying fall in numbers.

Habitat loss as a result of river-damming for hydro-electricity is another major concern.