Bushmeat trade in Ikwerre local government area of Rivers state. A case study of Omagwa bushmeat market

This study was conducted to investigate bushmeat trade in Omagwa bushmeat market in Ikwerre Local Government Area of Rivers State. A purposive sampling procedure was adopted in the selection of forty ( 40) respondents. Twenty (20) of them were hunters and Bush trap men and the remaining twenty were wholesalers and retailers. Simple percentage was the analytical tool used for data analysis. The result· revealed that majority of the· participants involved in the bushmeat hunting and bush trap men were of the age bracket between 41-50 years (50)-while the majority of the respondents in wholesalers /retailers were of. the age bracket between 31-40 years (50). The bush meat enterprise is mainly dominated by" men folk and -majority of the respondents were holders of first school leaving certificate. Majority of the hunters and bush trap men realized estimated average revenue of less than N50, 000.00 per annum while majority of the wholesalers and retailers received estimated annual revenue ·of NlOl, 000.00- N200, 000.00. It was discovered that grasscutter meat attracts higher price than other wild species in the study area. The major activities. in bushmeat trade were mainly cleaning, processing and smoke drying of the bushineat products. Among other problems, insufficient supply of the desired species· and constant variation in the price of bushmeat were the major problems faced by the participants. Therefore, there is need to improve the income of the participants- ih bushmeat trade by encouraging the domestication of some of the animal species. This will help to· incfease the revenue earnings· of the respondents ,and also help to prevent the extinction of 'some Wild species in futµre.