Voices from the Ground: Reducing Risks in Tanzania’s Game Meat Industry

Tanzania legalized the trade of game meat in 2020 in an effort to curb illegal hunting, promote the utilization of natural resources, and generate employment opportunities for local communities. This industry has developed rapidly and presented a number of risk management challenges in terms of legality, sustainability and safety. TRAFFIC has been collaborating with several government departments in Tanzania as well as private sector, and civil society actors to gather information and disseminate research findings to improve the overall management system for the game meat trade. This work, conducted with project partners from the University of Edinburgh and the International Institute of Environment and Development (which hosts the IUCN Specialist Group on Sustainable Use and Livelihoods), has included conducting a qualitative disease risk analysis (DRA) and characterization of the game meat value chain. The talk for Alliance members will focus on how insights gleaned from value chain actors and field observations have helped understand hazards, potential risks, and critical control points – including through engagement with government agencies from the district level up to national policy makers in a demonstration of a One Health multi-sectoral approach.

Voices from the Ground with Dr. Daniel Mdetele, Qudra Kagembe & Katie Beckmann

Tuesday, December 12th, 14:00 – 15:15 CEST

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About the Speakers

Dr Daniel Mdetele serves as a Senior Project Manager for Wildlife Trade and One Health at TRAFFIC’s East Africa programme office. He leads TRAFFIC’s team delivering the GIZ-funded activities on Reducing Risks in Tanzania’s Game Meat Industry: Developing a One Health Model for Safe, Sustainable and Legal Supply. Prior to joining TRAFFIC, he was engaged with the Department of Veterinary Services at the Ministry of Livestock and Fisheries in Tanzania, where he led investigations and control efforts for animal diseases. His role extended to being a focal person for the Virtual Learning Center in the Southern African Development Community (SADC) and EAC regions. He also coordinated In-service Applied Veterinary Epidemiology trainings (ISAVET) at the Department of Veterinary Services. Daniel holds an MPhil in Viral Diseases from Sokoine University of Agriculture and is a member of the Pandemic Preparedness and Response Group for the East African Community (EAC), Africa One Health Network, and the Southern Africa Center for Infectious Diseases Research Associate. Additionally, he contributes as a writer for Rewilding Magazine in South Africa.

Qudra Kagembe is the focal point for wild meat trade in TRAFFIC’s East Africa team, based in Arusha in northern Tanzania. He works currently on the USAID-funded Wildlife TRAPS project, implemented by TRAFFIC and IUCN, and ensures its links to the GIZ-funded activities on Reducing Risks in Tanzania’s Game Meat Industry: Developing a One Health Model for Safe, Sustainable and Legal Supply. Qudra provides technical support in research work and has focused on how TRAFFIC and its partners can enhance the governance of wildmeat related supply chains. This has included creating platforms for fostering stakeholder cooperation and communicating best practices for safe, legal and sustainable wild meat trade and use. Qudra is an expert on bird ecology and has a Degree in Wildlife Science and Conservation from the University of Dar es Salaam in Tanzania.

Katie Beckmann is a Lecturer in Wildlife Health and Conservation Medicine at the Rojal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies at the University of Edingburgh (UoE). She is a veterinary specialist in wildlife population health, with expertise in disease risk analysis and wildlife disease surveillance. Katie has led UoE’s collaboration with TRAFFIC East Africa on the GIZ-funded project Reducing Risks in Tanzania’s Game Meat Industry: Developing a One Health Model for Safe, Sustainable and Legal Supply, undertaking a qualitative disease risk analysis for the legal wild meat trade in northern Tanzania. Katie’s previous work has been primarily at the intersection of wildlife health and conservation, and over the past two years she has brought this valuable experience to adapting risk analysis approaches to wild animal trade in the Tanzanian context.  

About the Alliance

The International Alliance against Health Risks in Wildlife Trade serves as an inclusive and interdisciplinary platform to discuss challenges and formulate solutions vis-á-vis human-wildlife interfaces and associated health risks and the emergence and spread of zoonotic pathogens from wildlife. The Alliance is aiming to enhance international and national awareness, knowledge, policies and action, not least by narrowing the gap between science and implementation.

We are delighted to host this event and are enthusiastic to have a broad exchange within the Alliance community. Please feel free to forward and share this invitation with interested colleagues.