Animals traded for traditional medicine in Ghana: their zootherapeutic uses and implications for biodiversity conservation

The use of animals for zootherapeutic purposes has been reported worldwide, and with the patronage of complementary and alternative medicines being on the ascendency, the trade and use of animal parts will only escalate. Many more of these animals used in traditional medicine will be pushed to extinction if policies for their sustainable use and conservation are not formulated. There have been studies across the world which assessed the trade and use of animals in traditional medicine including Ghana. However, all previous Ghanaian studies were conducted in a few specific cities. It therefore makes it imperative for a nationwide study which would provide more comprehensive information on the trade and use of animals in traditional medicine and its conservation implications. Using direct observation and semi-structured questionnaires, data were collected from 133 vendors of animal parts used in traditional medicines in 48 markets located across all 16 administrative regions of Ghana. Analysis of the data showed that the trade in wild animal parts for traditional medicine was more prevalent in the urban centres of Ghana. Overall, 75 identifiable animal species were traded on Ghanaian traditional medicine markets. Using their relative frequency of citation values, chameleons (Chamaeleo spp.; 0.81), lions (Panthera leo; 0.81) and the West African crocodile (Crocodylus suchus; 0.67) were the most commonly traded animals in Ghana. Majority of the vendors (59.1%) indicated that their clients use the animal parts for medicinal purposes mainly for skin diseases, epilepsy and fractures, while clients of 28.2% of the vendors use the animal parts for spiritual or mystical purposes, such as protection against spiritual attacks, spiritual healing and money rituals. Up to 54.2% of the animals were classified as Least Concern by IUCN, 14.7% were threatened, with 51.2% of CITES-listed ones experiencing a decreasing population trend. This study also found that 68.5% of the traded animal species are not listed on CITES, but among those listed, 69.6% are classified under Appendix II. Considering the level of representation of animals of conservation concerns, the harvesting and trade of animal parts for traditional medicine must be regulated. This call is even more urgent since 40.0% of the top ten traded animals are mammals; a class of animals with long gestation periods and are not prolific breeders.