Public Officials Urged to Shun Bushmeat

A lecturer at the Sunyani Campus of the Kwame Nkrumah University Science and Technology, (KNUST), Mr. Emmanuel Acquah, has called on public officials in the country not to patronize bush meat sold on our highways. This according to him, would discourage illegal hunting business and help address the problem of high rate of wildlife destruction.

Mr. Acquah was speaking during the launching of the school’s Faculty Week Celebrations under the theme, “Human Activities and the Environment”, in Sunyani. The lecturer could not understand why public officials, especially politicians and environmentalists, who publicly condemn the destruction of wildlife, turn around to buy illegal game referred to as bush meat by the roadside.

He described the situation as unacceptable and asked such public officials to burry their heads in shame. He pointed out that instead of public officials patronizing bush meat, they should rather be causing the arrest and prosecution of people engaged in illegal hunting business.

Mr. Acquah asked the students to practice what they would be preaching when they assume the country’s leadership positions in the near future.

The Brong Ahafo regional director of the Environmental Protection Agency, (EPA), Mr. Isaac Osei, urged the students to be mindful of their activities which have effects on the environment.

He noted that bushfire for instance, does not come by itself adding that man can control the numerous incidence of bushfires.

Mr. Osei pointed out that other human activities such as road and building construction destroy the equilibrium of the environment and called on the students to use their knowledge and skills to address the problem.

“If we keep embarking on certain development projects that destroy the environment without proper reclamation measures, the objective of ensuring a safe environment would not materialize”, he said.