Malaysia: ‘Bush meat a health risk and can lead to extinction’

The Star 18 Sep 17;

KOTA KINABALU: There is no need for urban dwellers to consume bush meat even if they came from farms because protein can be sourced from livestock, says Sabah-based conservationist Dr Benoit Goossens.

Eating bush meat also poses a health risk, he added.

Dr Goossens, who heads the Danau Girang Field Centre in Kinabatangan, said that bush meat are sources of protein for certain forest communities.

“But for most people today, protein can be obtained by consuming chicken, lamb or beef,” he said.

Dr Goossens was commenting on a Facebook post over a recipe to cook porcupine meat, which has alarmed conservationists.

He said porcupines were being farmed and sold in peninsular Malaysia, but the question is whether animals like porcupines were really sourced from the farms.

“It is easy to tell the customer the meat came from a farm. How can you prove it? It can easily be taken from the wild,” he said, adding that there is also the risk of transmission of diseases from wild animals.

Dr Goossens said people should avoid wild meat because it would lead to the extinction of various animal species.