Joseph and the poachers - the fight to stop apes becoming extinct:
Only around a hundred years ago, equatorial Africa boasted a "green belt" stretching from Cameroon and Gabon in the West to Uganda in the east. This, the second largest green lung on Earth, is shrinking rapidly and with it the habitat of the apes.
The main reason for this is the drastic tree felling activities carried out by the wood-making industry. Experts estimate that, every minute, more than 50 hectares of woodland disappear.
The wood manufacturers tend to leave their workers to fend for themselves when it comes to food. This led to poachers moving in alongside the workers who are "employed" to provide the workers with fresh meat – and this is usually ape meat.
To investigate this illegal bush-meat trade, we visit the black market in Yaoundé, the capital of Cameroon, and follow the trail of the poachers out into the bush. We are accompanied by Joseph Melloh, an ex-poacher – and now acts as an informer, guide and undercover activist and is now actively involved in animal protection.
