Africa; Bushmeat; CITES; Europe; Illegal wildlife trade; Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health; Infectious Diseases
Abstract :
[en] 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.
Disciplines :
Veterinary medicine & animal health
Author, co-author :
Chaber, Anne-Lise; School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia ; Global One Health Alliance Pty Ltd, West Lakes Shore, SA 5021, Australia
Moloney, Georgia Kate; School of Animal and Veterinary Sciences, University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia ; Global One Health Alliance Pty Ltd, West Lakes Shore, SA 5021, Australia
Renault, Véronique ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appliqués aux sciences vétérinaires
Morrison-Lanjouw, Sandrella; University of Utrecht, Julius Center, Utrecht, The Netherlands ; Institute for Risk Assessment Sciences (IRAS), Utrecht, The Netherlands
Garigliany, Mutien-Marie ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département de morphologie et pathologie (DMP) > Pathologie générale et autopsies
Flandroy, Lucette; Retired from the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment, DG Environment, Belgium
Pires, Daniel; Faculty of Science, University of Porto, Rua do Campo Alegre 1021 1055, 4169-007 Porto, Portugal ; 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
Busoni, Valeria ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Fundamental and Applied Research for Animals and Health (FARAH) > FARAH: Médecine vétérinaire comparée
Saegerman, Claude ; Université de Liège - ULiège > Département des maladies infectieuses et parasitaires (DMI) > Epidémiologie et analyse des risques appliqués aux sciences vétérinaires
Gaubert, Philippe; Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, IRD/CNRS/UPS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier - Bâtiment 4R1, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France ; Laboratoire Evolution et Diversité Biologique, IRD/CNRS/UPS, Université Toulouse III Paul Sabatier - Bâtiment 4R1, 118 route de Narbonne, 31062 Toulouse cedex 9, France
Language :
English
Title :
Examining the international bushmeat traffic in Belgium: A threat to conservation and public health.
Support from Brussels-National airport (Zaventem) border control authorities, Inspection Service of the Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment and the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) was secured for this study. Between January 2017 and October 2018, flights arriving in Brussels Zaventem from sub-Saharan Africa between 0500 and 0900 h were subjected to special passenger baggage compliance checks (‘BACON’ actions), in addition to the routine checks. 17 BACON actions were undertaken in 2017 and 9 in 2018 in this airport. During these actions, all passengers were subjected to a thorough inspection of their luggage. Targeted or opportunistic seizures from other passengers during the study period collected by authorities were also included. In addition, leaking luggage isolated during transfer between connecting flights was investigated and any meat products identified were included. Information recorded at the airport was for the ith port of origin, number of passengers in the flights from this destination (ci), number of passengers checked (ni) and the weight of bushmeat carried by the jth passenger (kij). The estimated weight of meat imported during this period from a given country was calculated by.This study was carried out on behalf of the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment who fully funded the research on the illegal importation of meat, including bushmeat, seized at Zaventem Airport between 2017 and 2018. We are grateful to the team working at Brussels Zaventem airport for their support and all the border control officers who participated in the data collection. We received support from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liège where sample collection took place. The B2M staff at Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique provided helpful support regarding the genetic lab work. We acknowledge the data contribution provided by Dr. Kathy Wood/Tengwood Organization to enable comparison of the trade across European ports. We thank Dr. Charles Caraguel for his support in the statistical analysis, Cidalia Gomes for her help with the genetic assignment of samples and Maud Istasse (from the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment) for her continuous support of the project. PG and DP received support from FCT IC&DT 02/SAICT/2017—n° 032130 (BUSHRISK).This study was carried out on behalf of the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment who fully funded the research on the illegal importation of meat, including bushmeat, seized at Zaventem Airport between 2017 and 2018. We are grateful to the team working at Brussels Zaventem airport for their support and all the border control officers who participated in the data collection. We received support from the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Liège where sample collection took place. The B2M staff at Laboratoire Evolution & Diversité Biologique provided helpful support regarding the genetic lab work. We acknowledge the data contribution provided by Dr. Kathy Wood/Tengwood Organization to enable comparison of the trade across European ports. We thank Dr. Charles Caraguel for his support in the statistical analysis, Cidalia Gomes for her help with the genetic assignment of samples and Maud Istasse (from the Belgian Federal Public Service Health, Food Chain Safety and Environment ) for her continuous support of the project. PG and DP received support from FCT IC&DT 02/SAICT/2017—n° 032130 ( BUSHRISK ).
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