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Bushmeat for sale in Brussels

Gombeer S.1,*, Thierry Backeljau1,2, Marc De Meyer3, Prescott Musaba4, Casimir Nebesse4, Steve Ngoy4 and Erik Verheyen1,2

1 Royal Belgian Institute of Natural Sciences, Vautierstraat 29, 1000 Brussels, Belgium; 2 University of Antwerp, Universiteitsplein 1, 2610 Antwerp, Belgium; 3 Royal Museum for Central Africa, Leuvensesteenweg 13, 3080 Tervuren, Belgium; 4 University of Kisangani, B.P. 2012, Kisangani, DR Congo * Corresponding author e-mail: [email protected] http://bopco.myspecies.info/

The European Union prohibits any personal consignment of meat (products) from entering the Union unless specifically authorized and certified as being INTRODUCTION eligible for import. Notwithstanding these regulations, various recent papers report that large quantities of meat, including bushmeat, are entering Europe via its international airports without such certification. In France, a survey of confiscated goods carried by passengers from west and central Africa revealed that almost half of the searched passengers (focus on passengers with ice-boxes) carried meat or fish products (Chaber et al., 2010). Bushmeat was imported by a small number of passengers, yet in large quantities (on average > 20 kg). A similar study in Switzerland revealed that around 1.4 % of the meat illegally imported into the country was bushmeat (Falk et al., 2013). Chaber et al. (2010) suggest that there is a well-organized luxury market for African bushmeat in Europe. A report by Wood et al., (2014) identified Brussels Airport as a major transit point for bushmeat and suggested the airport may be a hub for the distribution of bushmeat inside Europe. AIM: we explored the following issues: (1) is bushmeat for sale in Brussels, (2) which species are being sold and are these endangered or legally protected (e.g. CITES), and (3) what is the price of bushmeat in Brussels?

SOLD BY VENDORS AS: IDENTIFIED BY DNA AS:

Potamochoerus porcus potamochère roux potamochère roux penseelzwijn penseelzwijn red river hog

Bos taurus vache domestique rund buffle d'Afrique cow Afrikaanse buffel spekii guib d’eau moerasantilope

céphalophe Cephalophus callipygus/ogilbyi/weynsi ‡ céphalophe duiker RESULTS

antilope Philantomba monticola antiloop céphalophe bleu blauwe duiker antelope

Atherurus africanus athérure africain aulacode Afrikaans kwaststaartstekelvarken African brush-tailed porcupine grote rietrat cane rat

Thryonomys swinderianus aulacode grote rietrat cane rat

cercocèbe mangabey Cercopithecus neglectus cercopithèque de Brazza Fig. 2: Text brazzameerkat De Brazza’s guenon

singe Cercopithecus ascanius aap cercopithèque ascagne monkey roodstaartmeerkat red-tailed monkey/guenon

The DNA-based identification confirms the information given by the vendor. ‡ DNA-based species identifications using COI and cytb All CITES listed species Cheapest piece of bushmeat (31 €/kg) The DNA-based identification differs from the information given by the vendor. were not able to distinguish among the closely related IUCN category Least Concern collected in this study are The information given by the vendor is very vague (higher taxonomic level) yet Cephalophus callipygus, C. ogilbyi and C. weynsi. Only C. listed on Appendix II Most expensive pieces of bushmeat (59 – 62 €/kg) the species falls within this taxon. ogilbyi is listed on CITES Appendix II IUCN category Not Evaluated

Bushmeat was not on display in any of the African grocery stores premium livestock, up to € 62 per kg, but does not seem to be visited, but after requesting specifically for bushmeat, a total of 15 related to the species being sold. pieces could be purchased from five shops. The meat was sold using DISCUSSION local African or common species names and was said to originate This study confirms that various types of bushmeat, including CITES from the Democratic Republic of Congo. listed species, are available for sale in Brussels. The high prices confirm the luxury status of the product, while DNA-based DNA species identifications revealed that the 15 bushmeat pieces identifications demonstrate a high incidence of mislabelling. This involved nine species, and that eight of the 15 pieces were sold might be due to the involvement of several intermediate vendors under a wrong species name. None of the nine species are and the fragmented and heavily smoked nature of the meat, making endangered according to the IUCN Red List, but two monkey and it difficult to identify. Yet, accurate bushmeat species two duiker species are CITES-listed. The price of bushmeat in identifications are necessary to assess the hunting pressure on wild Brussels can reach twice the Belgian market price of a piece of populations and to implement proper protective measures. MATERIALMETHODS & DNA-BASED SPECIES IDENTIFICATIONS 4) Sequencing of PCR products in both

nucleotide directions, followed by assembly, editing and original DNA to be replicated 1) Collecting bushmeat in Brussels 2) Taking a sample for DNA extraction DNA primer extraction of consensus

5) Using BLAST and NJ-tree building to make taxonomic assignments using data available on GenBank and BOLD

3) PCR amplification of mtDNA (COI and cytb)

PICTURE CREDITS: REFERENCES: Material and Methods: monkey top: Blue monkey (Cercopithecus mitis) by Diana Robinson [CC BY-NC-ND 2.0]; monkey centre: Wolfs Mona Monkey Chaber, A-L., S. Allebone-Webb, Y. Lignereux, A.A. Cunningham, and J.M. Rowcliffe. 2010. “The Scale of Illegal Meat Importation from Africa to Europe via Paris.” Conservation Letters 3 (5). (Cercopitheus wolfi) by Fred Hsu [CC BY-SA 3.0]; monkey bottom: De Brazza's monkey (Cercopithecus neglectus) by David J. Stang [CC BY-SA 4.0]. Wiley/Blackwell (10.1111): 317–21. Results and Discussion: porcus by Dennis Jarvis [CC BY-SA 2.0]; Bos Taurus by Keith Weller/USDA [Public domain]; Tragelaphus spekii Falk, H., S. Dürr, R. Hauser, K. Wood, B. Tenger, M. Lörtscher, and G. Schüpbach-Regula. 2013. “Illegal Import of Bushmeat and Other Meat Products into Switzerland on Commercial Passenger by Ivanhoe [CC BY-SA 3.0]; Cephalophus callipygus by XKD [CC BY-SA 2.0]; Philantomba monticola by Bart Wursten [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]; Atherurus Flights.” Revue Scientifique et Technique-Office International Des Epizooties 32 (3): 727–39. africanus by Glamhag [CC BY-NC-SA 2.0]; Thryonomys swinderianus by Aurélia Zizo [Attribution]; Cercopithecus neglectus by David J. Stang [CC BY- Wood, K.L., B. Tenger, N.V. Morf, and A. Kratzer. 2014. “Report to CITES: CITES-Listed Species at Risk from the Illegal Trafficking of Bushmeat; Results of a 2012 Study in Switzerland’s SA 4.0]; Cercopithecus ascanius by Denise [CC BY-SA 2.0]. International Airports.” Switzerland.