Title
Improving Poultry Production for Sustainability in the Ruaha Landscape, Tanzania
Author(s)
Danielle Knueppel , Peter Coppolillo , Ayubu Omari Msago , Peter Msoffe , David Mutekanga , Carol Cardona
Published
2009
Abstract
Shortages in protein availability are a well-known problem in village economies, especially in Africa, and the neurological and nutritional importance of animal-source protein is increasingly being recognized. A Newcastle disease vaccination program for chickens was undertaken to increase livestock productivity and to preemptively rule out Newcastle disease so that highly-pathogenic avian influenza would be more readily detected. This intervention offered an opportunity to examine how chicken vaccination affects household economies, and to test whether increased livestock productivity could reduce illegal hunting for bushmeat. We found that vaccinations did increase chicken production and egg and meat consumption but did not reduce the frequency of bushmeat consumption at the household level and, furthermore, that bushmeat consumption was not related to food security. Our findings suggest that bushmeat likely supplements (rather than substitutes) domestic meat, and its supply is driven by hunters’ demand for cash rather than household demand for protein.
Keywords
health

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