Wild Primate Welfare: Bushmeat Trade and Orphan Sanctuaries

The bushmeat trade causes severe welfare harm to wild primates and generates orphaned juveniles requiring specialist sanctuary care.

Key Facts

Bushmeat hunting including primates is practiced across Central and West Africa for subsistence and commercial markets
Great apes killed for bushmeat leave infants typically captured alive for sale or sanctuaries
An estimated 22,000 chimpanzees are trafficked annually with confiscated infants frequently traumatised
Specialist sanctuaries including Sweetwaters and Tchimpounga provide lifetime care for orphaned apes
Socialisation of traumatised infant primates into conspecific groups is a complex multi-year challenge
The bushmeat trade is driven by poverty and inadequate alternative protein sources

Welfare Considerations

Great ape bushmeat hunting causes welfare harm at two levels: acute suffering of killed individuals and chronic trauma of orphaned infants who witness their mothers being killed. Orphaned infants require years of skilled care to develop social skills for group integration. Reducing bushmeat hunting requires addressing food insecurity alongside law enforcement.

What You Can Do

Support accredited great ape sanctuaries providing lifetime care for bushmeat orphans
Donate to organisations working with communities on alternative protein programs
Advocate for international wildlife trafficking enforcement including bushmeat
Follow great ape conservation organisations connecting sanctuary care with wild population protection