Assessment of bushmeat marketing in Oluyole Local Government, Oyo State, Nigeria

This study examined the bushmeat marketing in Oluyole Local Government Area, Oyo State, Nigeria. A well-structured questionnaire was  administered to obtain information from thirty respondents using a simple random sampling technique. Data were analyzed using descriptive   statistics. The result revealed that all bushmeat marketers in the study area were women (100%). Majority of the respondents were within the agerange of 48 and 57 years (60.90%), married (96.70%) and had 21 and 30 years’ experience (56.67%) in bushmeat marketing. Purchase pattern of the marketers indicated that the marketers sourced their goods from the both the hunters (100%) and village assemblers (43.33%) from within and  outside the State. Individual consumers, retailers (56.67%) and hotels/restaurants (23.33%) patronized the bushmeat markets in the study area. And the most demanded bushmeat in the market was grasscutter (Thryonomys swinderianus). The major challenges facing the bushmeat marketing in the study area were inadequate capital to do the business (X=2.48), high transportation cost (X=2.27) and seasonality in supply (X=2.13). The study thus recommends a policy that will regulate marketing of bushmeat in the study area. Also, marketers should have access to credit facilities, and, bad roads should be repaired to reduce the burden of high transportation cost. Keywords: bushmeat, marketers, challenges, fresh, smoke