Tackling Central Africa’s illegal urban wild meat demand
Key Facts
FUNDING SCHEME Main
VALUE £349,030
WHERE Congo
Summary
Central African cities are major destinations for wild meat, with significant consequences for wildlife. Using intelligence data, criminology approaches and qualitative research, we aim to understand the drivers of urban demand and the illegal trafficking of key protected species—pangolins, apes, and crocodiles (PAC)—to cities. After profiling consumers and traffickers, we will engage law enforcement agencies, develop a situational crime prevention strategy, collaborate with the transport sector to develop internal IWT policies, and implement a targeted demand-reduction campaign.
Conservation Criminology Research Group, Michigan State University (MSU), Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development (MEDD) - DRC, Ministry of Forest Economy, Sustainable Development and Environment (MEFDDE), Republic of Congo, JURISTRALE Juristes pour le Renforcement et l’Application de la Loi dans le Secteur de l’Environnement, Southern Tanzania Elephant Program
Over 600 arrests and more than 500 convictions in wildlife crime since 2017, alongside a decline in ivory trafficking cases and an increase in elephant and rhino populations.
