Bush meats scarcity hits Anambra over 7 missing hunters

There has been tension and confusion in the Amanuke community in Awka North LGA of Anambra State following the alleged disappearance of seven hunters.

City & Crime learnt that the incident had led to the scarcity of bushmeat in the area as many hunters have abandoned hunting for fear of unknown.

A bushmeat seller, who does not wanted his name in print, said business was no longer booming following the fears by hunters that their colleagues are being attacked by suspected gunmen as they no longer carry out the routine hunting expedition.

 Another dealer, Mrs Rebecca Muolokwu, lamented that the cost of antelopes and grass cutters have skyrocketed due to the scarcity of meat.

According to her, the dealers had to hike the price to meet up with the cost of purchasing those meats.

She said, “We used to buy one full grass cutter at the cost of N25,000 but today we buy at the cost of N35,000.

“The hunters told us about the attacks by gunmen and that seven of their colleagues have been missing for one month now and that there is no clue of their whereabouts in Amanuke.” 

When contacted, the Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Tochukwu Ikenga, said the command was not aware of the incident.

Similarly, the state Commissioner for Homeland Matters, Chief Chikodi Anarah, who is a son of Amanuke community, said the story could not be true, noting that hunters in his home town don’t hunt as a group.

 He said, “That story is false because hunters in my place do not hunt in groups and you said seven hunters and one wonders if they kept a herd of animals in the bush that would make them hunt together. 

 “In my place, every hunter goes alone to where he hunts and this is the same in the olden days and you cannot find two hunters going together because in those days, they had their respective zones where they hunt and if one enters another hunter’s zone, he can get killed by the hunter that owns that zone. 

“Well, that doesn’t foreclose the story because I am going to make investigations to know if this is true and after that I will get back to you.”