By Crowned lemur, Eulemur coronatusRhett A. Butler, http://www.wildmadagascar.org 

As governance collapses and aid disappears, commercial poaching emerges New pictures released by Conservation International depict a troubling development in Madagascar: the emergence of a commercial bushmeat market for lemurs. In the aftermath of a March coup that saw Madagascar’s president replaced at gunpoint by the capital city’s mayor, Madagascar’s reserves — especially in the northern part of the country — were ravaged by illegal loggers. Armed bands, financed by foreign timber traders, went into Marojejy and Masoala national parks, harvesting valuable hardwoods including rosewood and ebonies. Without support from the central government — or international agencies that pulled aid following the coup — there was no one to stop the carnage. But now it emerges that timber wasn’t the only target. Photos posted by Conservation International show that endangered lemurs are being illegally killed by poachers to be sold to restaurants in towns as delicacies. Local “mafias” are apparently taking advantage of the breakdown of law and order to pillage Daraina protected forest, a newly established conservation area in the northeastern part of the island. “Withdrawal of international support has weakened environmental governance in the country and has created the perfect conditions for criminals to profit from the situation,” said Conservation International in a statement. “Since March 2009, there have been a set of environmental catastrophes in one of the world’s most important countries for biodiversity conservation ranging from the illegal felling of trees in national parks for export to Asia, collection of animals for the pet trade, and now the hunting of lemurs for bushmeat, the first evidence we have had of this since the coup.” …

Appalling photos reveal lemur carnage in Madagascar [warning: graphic images]