Subsistence hunting and bushmeat exploitation in central-western Tanzania

An ethnozoological research was carried out in the Tabora District (central -western Tanzania) from December '95 to February '96, to gather information on the sustainable exploitation of wildlife there and to outline the zoolo gical culture of the native people (the Banyamwezi). The objective was to d escribe the hunting activity and the techniques employed in capturing wild mammals and to gather quantitative data on game harvest. An inventory of th e mammal species living in the study area was conducted by three different methods: (1) direct field observation of animals and their tracks; (2) iden tification of animals captured by the villagers; (3) interviews with the hu nters. The activities of 10 local hunters from seven villages were followed during a nine week period. The number of mammals killed and the techniques used for each species were recorded. Other data were collected through int erviews of the villagers and concerned (1) the use of every species as food or for other purposes; (2) the species considered as pests; (3) the best p laces and time for hunting the different species; (4) the time spent huntin g them; (5) the food restrictions and taboos; (6) the extent of the bushmea t market (quantity, price, etc.). A total of 236 animals belonging to 37 sp ecies were killed during the study period with the following breakdown into taxonomic groups: Bovidae (44.06%), Carnivora (22.88%), Lagomorpha (8.05%) , Rodentia (7.2%), diurnal Primates (5.93%), Insectivora (4.23%), Hyracoide a (0.84%), nocturnal Primates (0.84%), Hippopotamidae (0.42%) and Pholidota (0.42%). Four different techniques were used by local hunters in the study area: guns (53.81%), traps (19.06%), spears (11.01%) and dogs (16.01%). Po aching is rampant because of the scarcity of ranger staff and vehicles for patrolling.