A shocking new analysis estimates that almost 13,000 lemurs are slaughtered and eaten every year.
Lemurs are at serious risk of being driven into extinction as affluent city dwellers ramp up demand for so-called luxury meat.
The small primates, known for their bushy tails and large eyes, are already classed as one of the world’s most endangered species.
According to the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), more than 90 per cent of the 112 lemur species are threatened with extinction and have been placed on the Red List.
While habitat loss, illegal logging and hunting have fuelled the population’s demise – a recently discovered appetite for lemur meat poses a new danger.
Madagascar’s secret luxury meat trade
A four-year study in Madagascar has exposed the “startling” extent of the country’s backstreet demand for luxury meat, despite a 60-year old ban on hunting lemurs.
Researchers– who interviewed 2,600 people across 17 major cities including key participants in the supply chain such as hunters, buyers, sellers and restaurant staff – found that nearly 13,000 lemurs are slaughtered and eaten each year.
Lemur meat appeared on menus in over a third of the cities surveyed, but most trade (94.5 per cent) is conducted in secret between suppliers and “trusted clientele”.
Researchers found the trade is fuelled by profit, with many consumers willing to pay more for lemur meat than traditionally farmed animals, as well as perceived health benefits.
“I eat it because I know things like that keep you young,” one buyer admitted. “That’s what people say in secret in the forest, it keeps you young because of the foods that they eat.”
Another buyer described lemur meat as the “most delicious food” they'd ever eaten, arguing: “Once you eat it, no one wants to stop.”
Lemurs are being ‘eaten into extinction’
Brown lemurs, which the IUCN classifies as “vulnerable”, and ruffed lemurs, which are “critically endangered”, were the most commonly consumed animals, with “wealthy clientele” driving the demand.
Scientists argue the crisis demands more than standard conservation efforts, adding: “Without a comprehensive data-driven approach, the world’s most endangered mammals may soon be eaten into extinction.”
How can lemurs make a recovery?
Researchers suggest enforcing stricter laws targeting illegal firearms - which are used to hunt lemurs - could help wild populations.
Launching targeted campaigns to reduce the desire for lemur meat could also curb demand, with scientists arguing that food safety concerns, such as the transmission of zoonotic diseases, could put consumers off.
“Another key approach could be to stop the supply by providing hunters with viable alternatives that give them a dependable income,” the study reads.
