Effects of Ebola (EVD) Outbreak on Bush Meat Marketing and Consumption in Ibarapa Central Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria

Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak was a major threat to public health in Nigeria and it adversely affected the people’s perception on bush meat as it was revealed that wild animals were host of the virus. Thus, the study assessed the effects of EVD outbreak on bush meat marketing and consumption in Ibarapa Central Local Government Area of Oyo State, Nigeria. Multi stage sampling technique was used to select 85 respondents. Data collected with interview guide and analysed using with descriptive statistics and chi-square analysis. The results showed that 58.80% of the respondents were between 40 – 50 years of age and 73% of the respondents were females. Majority (64.70%) of the respondents had been in bush meat business for more than 10 years. Before the EVD outbreak 37.14% of the respondents had more than 50 customers while patronage reduced to less than 25 customers in a day after EVD outbreak. Similarly, 42% of respondents had more than ₦21,000.00 in a day before EVD outbreak as against less than ₦5,000.00 in a day after the outbreak. Chi-square analysis showed a significant relationship between the sources of information on EVD outbreak and bush meat sales at p