A. Species
Scientific name: Eidolon helvum
Common name(s): African Straw-coloured Fruit-bat
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Near Threatened
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Ghana
Country/Region: Ghana / The southern part of the Volta Region and the Afram Plains
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Cities of Accra and Kumasi, a town (Nkawkaw) and surrounding village
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2009
End Year: 2011
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence and Income generation from trade (individual/household/community)
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: population decreasing but study focuses on health implications of consumption
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: The intention of the study was to discourage bat consumption on the basis that this is a known zoonotic risk to human health.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered unsustainable
Details of assessment carried out: this study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: hunting, "keeping", and slaughtering/ consumption are considered to use (unnecessarily) cruel methods
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The intention of the study was to discourage bat consumption on the basis that this is a known zoonotic risk to human health.
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2015-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
Date of record entry: 2022-11-15