Trade in Non-Mammalian Wild Animals for Traditional African Medicine in Ogun State, Nigeria

Authors

  • Durojaye A Soewu

Keywords:

traditional medicine; wildlife utilisation; wildlife trade; ethnozoology

Abstract

A steady rise in the patronage for Traditional African Medicine (TAM) has necessitated a corresponding increase in the demand for the ingredients used in the preparation of the trado-medicines. These ingredients are the various wild animals and plants parts. The attendant rise in this demand for ingredients calls for a need to document the extent of utilisation of these natural resources involved as a measure of the impact of such trade on biodiversity conservation. This paper examined diversity of molluscan, reptilian and avian species traded for use in TAM; the quantity of each species traded for utilisation over a period of time, and seasonal fluctuations in abundance and utilisation of these species as an index of utilisation pressure on populations in the wild. A multi-stage stratified random sampling technique was employed. An open-ended questionnaire was administered on vendors in selected market stalls for six consecutive markets days in each of dry and rainy seasons. The study identified twenty-three species, 8 were listed in CITES and Nigerian Decree 11(1985). A total of 3196 (molluscan), 2527 (reptilian), 2894 (avian) carcasses were traded over an average period of twenty days.

How to Cite

Durojaye A Soewu. (2016). Trade in Non-Mammalian Wild Animals for Traditional African Medicine in Ogun State, Nigeria. Global Journal of Medical Research, 16(B1), 7–16. Retrieved from https://medicalresearchjournal.org/index.php/GJMR/article/view/1088

Trade in Non-Mammalian Wild Animals for Traditional African Medicine in Ogun State, Nigeria

Published

2016-01-15