Radio Times: Review by:; David Butcher

Another dispatch designed to leave us holding our heads in despair. You will have heard of bushmeat – meat from animals hunted in the wild, often primates shot in the rainforest. Apparently, around 11,000 tons of illegal bushmeat, including ape meat, are smuggled into Britain each year, much of it from central Africa.

There, in Cameroon, where 80 per cent of all meat eaten is bushmeat, reporter Evan Williams sees the disastrous effect on native species such as the critically endangered western lowland gorilla. He also hears from a scientist about the real threat of new viruses emerging from bushmeat consumption. It’s a depressing picture.

About this programme

Reporter Evan Williams and director James Brabazon travel to Cameroon in Central Africa, where they investigate the controversial practice of eating wild animals that have been hunted in the rainforest. There is a fear that consuming primates including endangered gorillas and chimpanzees could lead to people catching as-yet-unknown viruses, which could trigger a global pandemic. They also meet a woman caring for the creatures orphaned by the killings.