Disturbed by the ravaging trend of the dreaded Ebola virus disease which had so far claimed no fewer than three lives in Nigeria, the Kano State government says it may ban the sale of all kinds of bush meat to prevent the spread of the virus in the state.
This is coming just as the Nigeria Hunter Association, has called on government to stop telling people to stop eating bush meat, saying is adversely affecting the livelihood
Dr. Rabi’u Musa Kwankwaso, the state governor who disclosed this at the State Executive Council meeting, said the state government was awaiting the report of a committee set up to look into the businesses of bush meat in the state next week before the ban.
The committee, which comprises three commissioners, those of agriculture, commerce and health, was mandated to find out where people are selling bush meat in the state and it has one week to submit its report.
Kwankwaso however said that the state is working with the Aminu Kano Teaching Hospital (AKTH) and the Murtala Muhammad Hospital to fully prepare for the virus.
In a swift reaction, the National Hunters’ Association of Nigeria has called on the government to stop telling Nigerians not to consume bush meat because it has affected their business drastically in the last few days and it is also driving its members into unemployment.
Commenting on the issue the President of the group, Ishola Olasehinde while speaking at the news conference said the business is their only means of sustenance, saying , even if there is any virus in these animals, once they are boiled and fried, it gets killed.
The association however then stated that government should include hunters in their research if they really want to prove that bush meat causes Ebola.
Olasehinde categorically added that the hunters are the ones who protect the country’s borders from being invaded by nomads from Mali and Lake Chad and this is not the way the government should pay them back.
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