Examining the international bushmeat traffic in Belgium: A threat to conservation and public health

Anne-Lise Chaber; Georgia Kate Moloney; Veronique Renault; Sandrella Morrison-Lanjouw; Mutien Garigliany; Lucette Flandroy; Daniel Pires; Valeria Busoni; Claude Saegerman; Philippe Gaubert

doi:10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100605

Examining the international bushmeat traffic in Belgium: A threat to conservation and public health

One Health. 2023 Jul 25:17:100605. doi: 10.1016/j.onehlt.2023.100605. eCollection 2023 Dec.

Authors

Anne-Lise Chaber^{1

2}, Georgia Kate Moloney^{1

2}, Veronique Renault³, Sandrella Morrison-Lanjouw^{4

5}, Mutien Garigliany³, Lucette Flandroy⁶, Daniel Pires^{7

8}, Valeria Busoni³, Claude Saegerman³, Philippe Gaubert^{9

9}

Affiliations

¹ School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia.
² Global One Health Alliance Pty Ltd, West Lakes Shore, SA 5021, Australia.
³ Faculty Veterinary Medicine of the University of Liège, Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals & Health, Avenue de Cureghem, 4000 Liège, Belgium.
⁴ University of Utrecht, Julius Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁵ Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht, The Netherlands.
⁶ Retired from the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, DG Environment, Belgium.
⁷ Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021 1055, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal.
⁸ Centro Interdisciplinar de Investigação Marinha e Ambiental, Universidade do Porto, Terminal de Cruzeiros do Porto de Leixões, Av. General Norton de Matos, s/n, 4450-208 Porto, Portugal.
⁹ Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, IRD/CNRS/UPS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier - Bâtiment 4R1, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France.

Abstract

The carriage of bushmeat into the European Union is an infringement of EU Animal Health and Wildlife Trade legislation and poses a threat to biodiversity and public health. To explore the nature and scale of the international bushmeat trade, seized leaking luggage and passengers arriving at Brussels Zaventem airport from sub-Saharan Africa between 2017 and 2018 were searched for "meat" (bushmeat and livestock) by border control authorities. Visual identification, radiography and genetic analysis were applied to derive information from seized specimens, including at least ten CITES-listed species. We estimate that an average of 3.9 t of bushmeat is smuggled monthly through Brussels. The average consignment of meat seized per passenger was 2.8 kg and 4 kg of bushmeat or domestic livestock meat, respectively. The international trafficking of bushmeat is evidently active, yet penalties are rarely enforced; hence we provide suggestions to simplify law enforcement procedures.

Keywords: Africa; Bushmeat; CITES; Europe; Illegal wildlife trade.