The implications of bushmeat hunting on the environment in the Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania
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Date
2010
Authors
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Publisher
Sokoine University of Agriculture
Abstract
A cross sectional study was done to examine the implications of bush meat hunting on the
environment on the Uluguru Mountains. Questionnaires
were administered to a total of
120 respondents in 8 villages around the Uluguru Mountains in the Morogoro Municipality.
Focus group discussions (FGDs) were also used during the study. The data were analysed
using the Statistical Package for Social Sciences (SPSS). Implications of the bushmeat
hunting practices on the environment were examined. The types of animal species
commonly hunted in the area, the methods/techniques used for hunting; and the type of
environmental degradation brought about by bushmeat hunting were
identified. It was
found that bushmeat hunting in the villages around the Uluguru Mountains was purely a
subsistence activity aimed at getting animal protein, income and medicine. Among the
respondents, 83.3% acknowledged the presence of bushmeat hunting activity around the
Uluguru Mountains. Among the wildlife species commonly hunted, grass cutter "nclezi"
ranked number one followed by the Steenbok and wild pig. Respondents reported the most
common techniques used for hunting were traps, spears, dogs and bush fires. 84.2% of
respondents acknowledged the use of bushfires as a technique for bushmeat hunting. Apart
from hunting, burning of bushes was either deliberately for farm clearing or accidental
(cigarettes butts and cooking). Unsustainable agriculture, use of firewood and charcoal for
energy as well as bushmeat hunting were the major causes of environmental degradation in
the Uluguru Mountains.
Description
Msc. Dissertation
Keywords
Bush meat hunting, Uluguru Mountains, Tanzania