Fighting Ebola

                                         
The Ebola outbreak in Liberia is creating fear amongst the Liberian population. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of Liberia has warned the public to stay away from eating bush meat. She stressed that the disease can spread through direct contact with the blood, saliva, urine, stool and secretion of infected animals, mostly bushmeat. Madam Anyaa Vohiri noted that this event has given us the opportunity to highlight the danger of the bush meat trade to the lives of both animals and humans. She added: "the killing and cross-border trade of our threatened and protected animals has health and ecological side effects."  She then warned Liberians to avoid eating bush meat.

The outbreak of the deadly Ebola virus in Guinea has rekindled concerns about the risks of hunting and eating bushmeat that place West Africans into close contact with wildlife of the forest. Report from Guinea says Ebola has claimed 60 to 80 deaths so far. Experts say the suspected origin of Ebola is forest bats.

 Bat meat is often served in a Guinean spicy stew called "kedjenou". The dish is a favourite in southeastern Guinea, which is the center of the current outbreak. Guinean authorities- fighting the disease- have now banned the sales of bat-meat and other bushmeat delicacies.

Having a manageable and disease-free meat source is crucial for Liberia. We at Liberia Wildlife Conservancy are calling on all Liberians, home and abroad, to engage or support Liberia's agriculture industry, especially cattle raising. Together we can make a difference.