Equatorial Guinea: Bush Meat on Roadsides
Despite being a rich country, old habits die hard and bushmeat is eaten everywhere in Equatorial Guinea – it’s considered “heritage”. Driving around the island, it was a sheer shock to see wild porcupines and critically endangered pangolins hanging from the roadside stalls. Bushmeat is not cheap, almost double or triple the normal beef or chicken but every local considers it an inalienable delicacy and part of their African culture. And so – wild animals are trapped, killed, sold, grilled and consumed widely and daily. Besides the porcupine and pangolin, you can have your pick of bush rat, duiker antelopes, giant land snails, black snakes, crocodiles, and even monkeys (one lady swung a machete at me for taking picture of a large black primate). I decided that if I saw a live pangolin I would buy one and set it free, but alas it wasn’t meant to be. I still haven’t seen pangolins in the wild or alive, but “thanks” to Equatorial Guinea and Togo for “presenting me” with dead ones.
