Poacher caught in Madagascar with grilled lemurs

Police in Madagascar have arrested a poacher accused of killing and grilling 32 lemurs, a small primate whose meat is increasingly prized as a delicacy, a local conservation group said Monday.

The poacher was arrested on Friday in the north-eastern city of Vohemar near the Loky-Manambato wildlife preserve, Fanamby, a non-governmental organisation that monitors the preserve, said in a statement.

“The man was arrested as he ... was to enter Vohemar.

In this area, lemur can be eaten in small restaurants, even if of course it is not officially on the menu,” said Fanamby’s secretary general, Serge Rajaobelina.

“The man has admitted to having two accomplices, who the police are actively searching for,” he added.

The hunting of lemurs, a species native to Madagascar of which many varieties are threatened with extinction, is illegal in the country and punishable by two to five years in prison.

Fanamby said that despite efforts to raise awareness against poachers in local communities, “demand among consumers for delicacies based on meat from poached animals is on the rise”. - AFP