Guinea Beef

Facts about beef in Guinea

• Bush meat – from bats to antelopes- squirrels- porcupines and monkeys – has long held pride of place on family menus in Guinea
• Medical teams struggling to curb Ebola in Guinea have been discouraging bush meat consumption- believed to have caused the outbreak- but some rural communities dependent on the meat for protein are determined to continue their traditional hunting practices.
• Bats – often served in a spicy stew called “kedjenou” – have long been a favourite in Guinea’s southeastern Forest Zone- the epicenter of the current outbreak. But sales of these and other bush meat delicacies have now been banned by Guinean authorities fighting the Ebola outbreak.
• Discouraging bush meat consumption and introducing livestock as an alternative to hunting is part of long-term solutions against risks of contracting Ebola from the wild- said Juan Lubroth- chief veterinary officer with the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Rome.
• Guinea in 2002 has 6.5 kg/person/year meat consumption.