Traditional medicine beliefs are culturally important in some West African communities, where there is a thriving domestic consumer demand for wild animal derivatives. Yet, such practices can threaten the conservation of wild populations and negatively impact animal welfare. To identify those species most likely to be affected, we investigated wildlife derivative trade at the largest fetish market of West Africa in Togo. Specifically, we asked what wild animals or animal products were most profitable, which wild animals were perceived by vendors to have increased most in rarity and what they were used for. A key question was whether vendors also sold plant-based alternatives. Vendors provided 36 local animal names, from which we inferred an estimated 281 species. Thirteen percent of these inferred species are categorised on the IUCN Red List as threatened (n = 35); 26% are declining (n = 72). The most commonly cited most profitable wildlife derivatives were “Pangolin” and “Python”; the most commonly cited most profitable live wild animal was “Chameleon”. Overall, wildlife use was predominantly spiritual rather than medicinal. Plant-based alternatives were available, but comprised < 40% of sales and appeared to be considered less important or less useful than wild animal products. The legal status of this domestic trade in Togo is unclear given the existence of potentially conflicting national legislation. In addition to further research focused on the actual impacts on populations and individuals of the species indicated, socio-economic importance of this trade, societal pressures driving consumer demand and an assessment of the feasibility of sustainable plant-based alternatives is warranted.
The ball python (Python regius) is the single most exported live CITES-listed species from Africa, with a large proportion of snakes being sourced from Togo, West Africa, officially via a system reported nationally as "ranching". This study represents the first in-depth review of ball python hunting being carried out by rural communities in Togo for nearly 15 years. Our approach, focused at the bottom of the trade chain, permitted extensive detailed data to be collected from hunters, and provides a unique insight into the practices, drivers and impacts associated with this type of large-scale commercial wildlife trade activity. We show that ball python hunting remains an economically valuable endeavour for these rural hunters. However, it also highlights a number of potential legal, conservation and animal welfare issues associated with the current hunting practices being carried out in Togo (and neighbouring range States) to supply the snake farms and ultimately the international exotic pet trade. Our findings suggest that the methods applied on the ground do not accurately reflect those being reported to national authorities and international regulatory mechanisms such as CITES. This irregular, if not illegal, trade may also be unsustainable, as suggested by hunters reporting that there are fewer ball pythons in the wild than there were five years A peer-reviewed open-access journal Neil D'Cruze et al. / Nature Conservation 38: 13-36 (2020) 14 previously. We recommend that additional scientific investigation (focusing on the size and status of the wild population), better management, and enforcement of regulations, are required to ensure that ball python populations are managed in a sustainable, legal and traceable way.
This study focused on determining the size and welfare aspects of Asian elephant, pig-tailed macaque and tiger populations at facilities open to tourists in Thailand. Data were gathered from 118 venues through direct observations and interviews with staff. A score sheet-based welfare assessment was used to calculate scores between 1 and 10, indicating each venue’s welfare situation. Factors such as freedom of movement for the animals, access to veterinary care, environmental noise quality, hygiene standards and work intensity were included in the score sheet. 1688 elephants, 371 macaques and 621 tigers were found at the venues. 89 venues exclusively kept elephants, 9 designated ‘Monkey schools’ offered macaque shows, 4 venues kept primarily tigers, mostly for petting and photo opportunities, and the remaining venues kept a mix of these animals. A strong imbalance in female to male gender ratios was recorded with about 4:1 for adult elephants and 1:4 for adult macaques. Severely inadequate welfare conditions were common, with 75% of macaques and 99% of tigers being kept at venues with scores less than 5. 86% of elephants were kept in inadequate conditions at venues with scores between 3 and 5, but a significant number of venues with scores above 5 were found. 4.6% of elephants were provided commendable conditions, reaching assessment scores of 8 and above. 71% of venues did not offer any sort of education about animals to visitors. This study is the first to assess welfare aspects of captive wild animals at tourism venues across Thailand. It concludes that significant concerns exist about the welfare of wild animals in the tourism sector of Thailand. Urgent attention needs to be given to address these concerns and prevent further suffering. But also to ensure the demand for wild animals doesn’t have a negative impact on wild populations.
The ball python (Python regius) is the world’s most commonly traded python species for the “exotic” pet industry. The majority of these live snakes are produced via a number of python farms in West Africa that have been in operation since the 1960s and involved with “ranching” operations since the 1990s. However, to date no thorough taxonomic review or genetic studies have been conducted within its range, despite the fact that the evaluation of a species’ genetic variability is generally considered mandatory for effective management. We used mtDNA sequence data and eight polymorphic microsatellite markers to assess the underlying population genetic structure and to test the potential of the nuclear markers to assign farm individuals to wild reference populations in southern Togo. Despite the relatively large distances between sample locations, no significant genetic population structure was found, either in mtDNA sequence data or in the microsatellite data. Instead, our data indicate considerable gene flow among the locations. The absence of a distinct population subdivision may have resulted from an anthropogenic driven admixture of populations associated with commercial wildlife trade activity in recent decades. Given the ongoing largely unregulated nature of the commercial ranching of ball pythons in West Africa, should a wild release component continue, as a first measure we recommend that the Management Authorities should develop an action plan with specific release protocols for python farms to minimise any potential negative conservation impacts resulting from admixture (genetic pollution) between farmed and wild individuals.
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