Role of wild mammals in traditional medicine and mystic practices in the province of Oubritenga, Burkina Faso

Abstract

Local people use corpses and organs of wild animals for medical care and mystical practices. The study aims to inventory the mammal’s species which organs are used for the treatment of some diseases or the implementation of some mystical practices. It was an ethnozoological survey which took place from September to December 2018 in 11 markets with 18 traditional practitioners selling wild mammal products. In total, 24 species of wild mammals have been identified and 16 organs listed as medicine for cure 21 diseases. Some of these organs are also involved in 7 mystical practices of local people. Animal parts such as the skin (51.30%) and the bones / the horns (16.23%) are the most sought after on the markets. Traders sources are mainly from Burkina Faso (92.57%) and to a lesser extent from Niger (7.43%). Almost all the concerned species are protected (22 species) in Burkina Faso. Among these species, 4 are vulnerable according to the IUCN criteria. The obvious consequence of these traditional needs for corpses and parts of wild mammals collected by local communities is undoubtedly the depletion of biodiversity. Therefore, this requires the application of conservation rules which guarantee better exploitation of these biological resources.

Keywords: Biodiversity, wildlife, traditional use, animal’s organ, ethnozoology