Question

places of subsistence gathering in the world

Answer 1

Hunting and gathering of wild animals has always been and continues to be an important aspect of life in rural African societies. In the past, hunting provided the main source of animal protein and professional hunters occupied a highly respected position in the society. Even in modern day Africa, some groups such as the Bushmen in southern Africa depend almost entirely on hunting and gathering to obtain essential protein and cash income, while many other groups supplement their livelihood considerably by hunting (see e.g. Richter and Butynski, 1973; Asibey, 1974; Ajayi, 1979; Infield, 1988; Tutu et al., 1994). In many African countries, hunting is not only a means of securing food resources, but is also a social event (rites of passage) in which young men proved their manhood.

Hunting with guns and bows is predominantly a male activity, but women and children also play a significant role in the hunting and collection of wild resources to feed the household. In south eastern Gabon, women and children set traps for small mammals and birds :in plantations (Lahm, 1993). Women of the Luvale and Shaba tribes of Zaire also trap rodents and in West Africa, snail collection is predominantly done by women and children.

In the past hunting and exploitation of wild animals were regulated by traditional rules and every good hunter was expected to respect the traditional code of conduct that existed in whatever community he operated in. With colonisation and the advent of modern wildlife conservation measures, many African governments have introduced restrictions on hunting. These restrictions include prohibition of hunting in national parks and other wildlife conservation areas, closed seasons in which hunting is prohibited, introduction of a license system and restrictions on species and age categories which could be taken. In many countries, hunters are required by law to take out a hunting license which normally stipulates the number of each species he is allowed to hunt over a specified period of time. In some countries, bushmeat traders are also required to take a license which permits them to trade. In southern and eastern African countries. these restrictions are strictly enforced to ensure protection of wild animal both within and outside protected areas in order to promote tourism, sport hunting and other wildlife based revenue generating activities. Within West Africa, enforcement of hunting regulations is less stringent and is aimed at protection to allow wild animal populations to build up, since numbers of most species have already been drastically reduced by hunting. In most countries, hunting regulations concern large game species' a factor which explains the dominance of rodents and other small mammals in the species exploited as bushmeat.

Governmental controls do not normally apply to the collection of invertebrates such as insects and snails but in many African communities the collection of these groups of wild animals is governed by traditional rules and regulations. For example, in the southern forest areas of Ghana' particularly in Ashanti, an unwritten traditional law involving closed seasons exist which was highly respected in the past and effectively regulated the exploitation of the giant African snail Achatina achatina. The closed season for forest snails was strictly enforced in most Ashanti villages; at the beginning of the snail season when the snails were laying their eggs the town crier would inform the community of the ban on snail collection. This was aimed to allow hatching and growth of young snails . This was strictly adhered to until the season was opened by another announcement from the town crier.

Despite all the controls on hunting, subsistence hunting accounts for over 90% of the bushmeat supply on the African continent. In the Côte d'Ivoire bushmeat consumption in 1990 was estimated to be 83,000 tons valued at US$ 117 m, out of which only US$23 m came from commercial hunting Feer (1993). Several categories of hunters and hunting methods have been described by various authors based on number of hunters involved, time of day and the implements used. Thus we have individual and group hunting, hunting with guns, bow and arrow hunting, setting of traps, night hunting and day hunting. Within these groups, hunters may operate as full time professional hunters or as part-time hunters whose main occupation may be farming, artisans or people engaged in the government/public service.

In the past, flint-locks were used and these were made by local blacksmiths. Currently, 12 gauge shot guns as well as locally made and imported rifles are commonly used