Snake oil and pangolin scales: insights into wild animal use at “Marché des Fétiches” traditional medicine market, Togo

Abstract

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.

Ethnozoological and commercial drivers of the pangolin trade in Benin

“…Its vegetation is marked by a severely fragmented forest cover due to both drier climatic conditions during the Holocene [25] and ever-growing human (mostly agricultural) activities [26,27]. Benin is widely known for its Vodoun culture, which is strongly linked to a diversity of traditional practices (medicinal and spiritual) using various animal derivatives [6,7]. Vodoun practices have driven the development of a dense TMM (also called 'fetish markets') network in the country, with at least 42 markets identified in southern and central Benin (SZ, unpubl.…”

“…Bushmeat species also play a vital role in traditional African medicine where animal-derived body parts (items) are used for the treatment of diseases, ailments and spiritual purposes (e.g. [6,7]). The specific markets, mostly urban, where such items are sold add to the bushmeat selling network already connecting rural to main urban centres [8].…”

“…Among the four species of African pangolins, the white-bellied pangolin (Phataginus tricuspis) is the most frequently found on the bushmeat and traditional medicine markets (e.g. [17,18]), notably in West Africa [6,7,16,19]. Ethnozoological knowledge on the species shows a diversity of uses by local communities involved in medicinal and spiritual practices, to treat convulsion, rheumatism, hiccups, healing wounds, woman unfaithfulness and impotence [18,20].…”

“…Ethnozoological knowledge on the species shows a diversity of uses by local communities involved in medicinal and spiritual practices, to treat convulsion, rheumatism, hiccups, healing wounds, woman unfaithfulness and impotence [18,20]. Scales are the most commonly used, although various items such as tongue, bones and head are also regularly found on the traditional medicine market (TMM [6,7];).…”

“…Benin, situated in the Dahomey Gap (West Africa) and often designated as the cradle of the 'Vodoun culture', harbours a vibrant market network for animal-based medicinal and spiritual practices, likely to have deleterious impacts on biodiversity conservation in the whole subregion [6,7]. Although the ethnozoology of pangolins has received much attention in neighbouring countries [6,17,[20][21][22], the situation in Benin, where the whitebellied pangolin's range has been contracted by 1/3 over the last two decades [23], remains understudied. Akpona et al [24] found seven different items of pangolins used by southern communities for 13 medicinal and spiritual purposes, with scales as the most frequently cited.…”