The bushmeat trade kills thousands of chimpanzees annually across Central and West Africa, causing acute suffering and threatening the long-term survival of our closest relatives.
Chimpanzees killed for bushmeat are frequently caught in wire snares that cause prolonged suffering before death or capture. Infants clinging to their killed mothers experience profound trauma and grief - well-documented in chimpanzee behavioral research. Orphaned chimpanzees kept as pets suffer from social deprivation, inappropriate diets, and psychological distress. As our closest living relatives sharing complex emotional and social lives, the suffering of chimpanzees in the bushmeat trade carries particular moral weight.