Tracy Hernandez / Roundup
An instructor from College of the Canyons, Sarah Etheridge, came to Pierce College yesterday to present her two-part research on Bushmeat Hunting and what students can do to help.
At only the age of 28, Etheridge has earned her graduate degree at California State University in Fullerton, used sign language with chimpanzees in Washington, has written a book and has lived in Uganda.
“I was emotionally disturbed and angry,” said Etheridge, regarding her discovery of the dangers facing great apes in Africa. “My main goal is to teach from the specific things I’ve learned to students that don’t know.”
The lecture had information on how some countries in Africa are hunting and killing apes and chimpanzees for profit and food. Etheridge’s research consists of two parts.
Part one is the research. Her research points out all the industries that are harming the apes.
Logging is the first example; logging is harmful to them because it leaves apes and chimpanzees without their primary sources of food and shelter.
Entertainment is the second major threat because they use chimpanzees to promote various products.
She told the audience that apes are not easy to train and do not smile, so when the entertainment industry uses a “smiling” ape to sell a product, they were probably unfairly abused to encourage the smile.
Pet Trade is third leading threat because having a chimpanzee as a pet is illegal. When people decide to have one at home, they are not trainable so they eventually have to give them up to medical testing.
Medical testing is what leads to her fourth and last example because they use apes to study human diseases; a chimpanzee goes through at least 300 surgeries in a lifetime.
Part two is conservation. She spoke of what students can do to help.
Awareness serves as a small effort to deter the mistreatment of apes, but another way is to not contribute to the industries that are selling products which contribute to the abuse.
Susan Centorino, a Pierce College and CSUN student, attended the lecture and thought it was interesting.
“I knew about this problem; I just didn’t know, I didn’t realize it’s as bad as it is,” said Centorino.
Another student in attendance was Silvia Matossian, who also enjoyed the lecture.
“I thought it was very informative, and I really enjoyed her lecture,” said Matossian.
The next installment of the Anthropology Lecture Series will occur on Tuesday, April 5, when Santa Monica City College’s Catherine Haradon discusses the environmental context of modern humans and behavioral modernity in east and southern Africa.