TAKE ACTION NOW! The Bushmeat Promise is Launched

After over a year of planning and review, BCTF has launched a campaign that encourages individuals around the world to make a personal commitment to solving the bushmeat crisis: the Bushmeat Promise.

The Bushmeat Promise is structured to raise awareness, facilitate education and encourage individual action (including making wise choices when purchasing food, supporting field-based and awareness projects and supporting appropriate policies). For each promise that an individual makes, there are a number of recommended ways to fulfill those promises. Recommended actions are different for areas where bushmeat is consumed and for areas where it is not generally available. BCTF is also developing a mechanism to facilitate follow-up with each individual, so we can gauge the cumulative effect of these individual actions. This effort "promises" to be an incredibly effective mechanism for encouraging action and tracking the collective voice for bushmeat around the world.

The BCTF staff would like to acknowledge everyone involved in making this project a reality, especially Shannon Randolph of the Peace Corps-Cameroon for her recommendation of a system that encourages individual responsibility, and former BCTF intern Elizabeth Gordon for her work on the Bushmeat Promise Pilot Study. Thanks also to the Columbus Zoo & Aquarium, Cleveland Metroparks Zoo and Oakland Zoo for pilot testing the Promise in 2002, to Jason Rhody for his web skills, Michael Boardman of Coyote Graphics for use of his artwork, and the University of Maryland CONS Program Fall 2002 Problem Solvers team for their review and recommendations.