Ebola: Enugu bush meat sellers turn fish sellers to survive
Since the outbreak of the dreaded Ebola Virus
Disease (EVD) in the country, bush meat sellers across the country have
been counting their losses.Their business has taken a dive for the
worse as those who patronize them have taken caution of the fact that
Ebola could come through some species of animals such as chimpanzees,
monkeys, antelopes and fruit bats.
But to play safe, most Nigerians have started avoiding all categories
of bush meats, whether or not they are in the species specified for
Ebola transmission.
In Enugu State, the fear of eating of bush meat is the beginning of wisdom; but this new consumption habit has sent bush meat traders in the state crying.
A visit to the Artisan and other markets, where bush meat is sold in Enugu last week proved that there is low purchase of bush meat in the markets.
The section in Artisan Market, which sells bush meat looked like a graveyard as consumers of bush meat have abandoned it.
The bush meat sellers lamented that they are the worst hit in the Ebola trauma. They noted that they had to turn to selling fish as a means of survival because of the low purchase they are recording now.
Bush meat, which they said, was normally sold between ₦5,000 and ₦3,000 was now sold for a paltry ₦1,000, that is, if they see anyone to buy them.
They lamented that since the outbreak of the disease in the country they have been merely surviving as their means of livelihood has been badly hit.
The traders also expressed sadness that their customers from hotels and restaurants have stopped patronizing them, making them to now look for alternative sources of income.
A bush meat seller, Mr Okey Collins, who spoke on behalf of the bush meat traders at the market, lamented that there was no way bush meat sellers would survive if Ebola is not eradicated in the country.
“We don’t have customers anymore even if we buy from hunters we can’t sell them because people don’t patronise us anymore. When I try smoking bush meat people around here run away from me,” he said.
He said that “bush meat, a delicacy of many, including our fore-fathers would soon be a thing of the past if nothing is done about Ebola Virus Disease.
“Do you know that it’s as bad as when I try to smoke the bush meat and the fish together, people would complain and would refuse to buy the fish from me. For now most of the bush meat sellers have turned into fish sellers.”
He urged the government to come to their rescue and eradicate Ebola from the country so that they can continue their trade.
He believed that there was no way any virus could survive in the meat because they are properly smoked and treated.
“I am begging the government to do something about our condition; this is the only means of our livelihood. If they can make people understand that there is no Ebola in bush meat in Nigeria because we smoke them well, that will be fine,” he said.
Bush meat traders were not the only ones affected by the situation, cat fish sellers who stay close to the bush meat sellers also complained that the Ebola scare has also affected them too as many of their customers also now think that the virus could be contracted by consumption and preparation of fish.Mrs Mmesi Ibe, a cat fish seller, said:
“This Ebola has affected us tremendously; it affected us as fish sellers. When people heard that it can be contracted through some animals people generalised that fish can also be one of the animals carrier of the disease. I believe that one can contract Ebola from having intercourse with animals and not by eating them. For me, I don’t even have animals as pets, so I don’t believe it can get to people if they take these animals. Also I believe it is what you believe in that would happen to you; there is nothing like Ebola for me,” she said.
However, the situation at the Artisan market appeared to be better as a visit to other markets in the state like Ogbete and New Market was an exercise in futility as bush meat sellers had deserted the markets.
A crayfish trader, Mrs Ngozi Uche, explained that due to low turnout of bush meat buyers the bush meat traders were forced to stop selling bush meat in the market. “They normally stay around here where I sell my crayfish, but since the outbreak of Ebola they all stopped coming, including the hunters from the villages who brought them into the city because of how unproductive their trade has now become. People just stooped patronizing them entirely”, she said.
For most restaurants and bar operators in Enugu that exclusively sold bush meat and drinks before the outbreak of the virus, they have resorted to selling only goat meat pepper soup and point-kill fish as alternative to the bush meat.
A bar operator, who identified himself as Sunday lamented that before now people patronized his bar because of the bush meat they sold at Nike Lake area in Enugu East Local Government of the state.
“Before the Ebola outbreak, we sold bush meat alone, it was our unique selling-point and thus attracted people to the bar. We normally purchased from hunters in nearby villages, we use to sell a plate of bush meat for ₦500 and ₦400 depending on what the customers wanted. Consequently, we had to stop because of the Ebola scare among customers. I now sell goat meat pepper soup in place of the bush meat.
Surprisingly, another bar at Nike, bush meat business is still the same for them as they still sell unlike the others.
Though the bar operator claimed that Ebola also had reduced the number of customers to the restaurant, he said that they had continued selling it because some of their customers still request for them.
One of the bar attendants, Miss Amaka Ugwu, said: “At first when we heard that bush meat was one of the ways one can contract Ebola, people stopped coming to the bar and this resulted to a drastic reduction in the number of customers we got. Eventually, people started asking for them again because some of them are in doubt of the disease.”
When asked if she believed that one could contract the disease from consumption and preparation of bush meat, she said she did not know since people still bought the meat from them and nothing has happened to them.
In Enugu State, the fear of eating of bush meat is the beginning of wisdom; but this new consumption habit has sent bush meat traders in the state crying.
A visit to the Artisan and other markets, where bush meat is sold in Enugu last week proved that there is low purchase of bush meat in the markets.
The section in Artisan Market, which sells bush meat looked like a graveyard as consumers of bush meat have abandoned it.
The bush meat sellers lamented that they are the worst hit in the Ebola trauma. They noted that they had to turn to selling fish as a means of survival because of the low purchase they are recording now.
Bush meat, which they said, was normally sold between ₦5,000 and ₦3,000 was now sold for a paltry ₦1,000, that is, if they see anyone to buy them.
They lamented that since the outbreak of the disease in the country they have been merely surviving as their means of livelihood has been badly hit.
The traders also expressed sadness that their customers from hotels and restaurants have stopped patronizing them, making them to now look for alternative sources of income.
A bush meat seller, Mr Okey Collins, who spoke on behalf of the bush meat traders at the market, lamented that there was no way bush meat sellers would survive if Ebola is not eradicated in the country.
“We don’t have customers anymore even if we buy from hunters we can’t sell them because people don’t patronise us anymore. When I try smoking bush meat people around here run away from me,” he said.
He said that “bush meat, a delicacy of many, including our fore-fathers would soon be a thing of the past if nothing is done about Ebola Virus Disease.
“Do you know that it’s as bad as when I try to smoke the bush meat and the fish together, people would complain and would refuse to buy the fish from me. For now most of the bush meat sellers have turned into fish sellers.”
He urged the government to come to their rescue and eradicate Ebola from the country so that they can continue their trade.
He believed that there was no way any virus could survive in the meat because they are properly smoked and treated.
“I am begging the government to do something about our condition; this is the only means of our livelihood. If they can make people understand that there is no Ebola in bush meat in Nigeria because we smoke them well, that will be fine,” he said.
Bush meat traders were not the only ones affected by the situation, cat fish sellers who stay close to the bush meat sellers also complained that the Ebola scare has also affected them too as many of their customers also now think that the virus could be contracted by consumption and preparation of fish.Mrs Mmesi Ibe, a cat fish seller, said:
“This Ebola has affected us tremendously; it affected us as fish sellers. When people heard that it can be contracted through some animals people generalised that fish can also be one of the animals carrier of the disease. I believe that one can contract Ebola from having intercourse with animals and not by eating them. For me, I don’t even have animals as pets, so I don’t believe it can get to people if they take these animals. Also I believe it is what you believe in that would happen to you; there is nothing like Ebola for me,” she said.
However, the situation at the Artisan market appeared to be better as a visit to other markets in the state like Ogbete and New Market was an exercise in futility as bush meat sellers had deserted the markets.
A crayfish trader, Mrs Ngozi Uche, explained that due to low turnout of bush meat buyers the bush meat traders were forced to stop selling bush meat in the market. “They normally stay around here where I sell my crayfish, but since the outbreak of Ebola they all stopped coming, including the hunters from the villages who brought them into the city because of how unproductive their trade has now become. People just stooped patronizing them entirely”, she said.
For most restaurants and bar operators in Enugu that exclusively sold bush meat and drinks before the outbreak of the virus, they have resorted to selling only goat meat pepper soup and point-kill fish as alternative to the bush meat.
A bar operator, who identified himself as Sunday lamented that before now people patronized his bar because of the bush meat they sold at Nike Lake area in Enugu East Local Government of the state.
“Before the Ebola outbreak, we sold bush meat alone, it was our unique selling-point and thus attracted people to the bar. We normally purchased from hunters in nearby villages, we use to sell a plate of bush meat for ₦500 and ₦400 depending on what the customers wanted. Consequently, we had to stop because of the Ebola scare among customers. I now sell goat meat pepper soup in place of the bush meat.
Surprisingly, another bar at Nike, bush meat business is still the same for them as they still sell unlike the others.
Though the bar operator claimed that Ebola also had reduced the number of customers to the restaurant, he said that they had continued selling it because some of their customers still request for them.
One of the bar attendants, Miss Amaka Ugwu, said: “At first when we heard that bush meat was one of the ways one can contract Ebola, people stopped coming to the bar and this resulted to a drastic reduction in the number of customers we got. Eventually, people started asking for them again because some of them are in doubt of the disease.”
When asked if she believed that one could contract the disease from consumption and preparation of bush meat, she said she did not know since people still bought the meat from them and nothing has happened to them.
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