Second Congo War
Animals and bushmeat trade

On account of the war the Democratic Republic of Congo saw their elephant population halve in size, their hippo population go from 22,000 to 900 and their great ape population decrease by 77%–93% between 1998 and 2015.

With up to 3.4 million people being displaced in Congo as a result of the civil war, many moved into Congo's forests, where they hunted bonobos, gorillas, elephants and more as bushmeat for survival and cleared forest land that were significant habitats for these many animals. Many of these individuals were either from the city where the hunting of certain animals was not a taboo or locals who had their tradition slowly broken down because of their need to survive. One such example had been the Bongando people in which a 2009 study by Kyoto University had observed a disintegration of their cultural interdiction of eating bonobos as influenced by the civil war. During the conflict many of the front lines were located within bonobos reserves, further contributing to the decline in their population.

Government instability and the lack of government enforcement allowed new illegal militia mining camps to form which located themselves deep within Congo's forest. There, bushmeat became the main source of food. On top of that, the mass number of people entering the forests in conjunction with the mines’ unsanitary conditions introduced an increased risk of disease for animals such as gorillas. The government instability and the dangers of war also ceased much of the conservation and protection efforts occurring in Congo at the time, enabling the numerous rampant rebel groups present in Congo to openly partake in poaching.

Military assistance having been obstructed by surrounding African countries, Congo was pushed into entering numerous lumber leases with German, Chinese and Malaysian corporations to uphold their military activities. The roads emerging to support the new logging efforts opened nearby villages to receive easier means of transportation and access to deeper parts of Congo's wildlife reserves. The result was a significant increase in bushmeat sales in villages near these logging sites.

The potential threat of rebel forces during the war caused many military officers controlling urban trade to leave their post. This created an open access market in the bushmeat and pet trade that was then undertaken by exploitative lower ranked soldiers looking for profit. The result was an observed quintuple increase of protected animal sales in urban markets in north-eastern parts of Congo around Garamba National Park. Meanwhile, in other northern parts of Congo, researchers in other studies have found a 23% increase in protected animal sales with the overall pattern being a significant increase in protected animal sales.
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