Endangered Species, Bushmeat and Capitalism

I'd be skeptical of this, but let's assume it is correct and certain species of apes and monkeys are coming dangerously close to extinction. If you listened to the media and all manner of anti-economic development types, you could be forgiven for thinking that this regretable situation was the result of man encroaching on animal's habitats; but, you would be wrong. Ever heard of "bushmeat"? No, then go here. And note the following:

"Though habitat loss is often cited as the primary threat to wildlife, commercial hunting for the meat of wild animals has become the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife in Africa and around the world; it has already resulted in widespread local extinctions in Asia and West Africa."

It this case, it ain't man's expanding footprint that is doing the primates in. Not our sub-divisions, not our strip malls, not our golf courses nor our big box stores. Extreme poverty is the culprit. Africans are so poor that they have to hunt apes, monkeys and other wild animals for food. In short, what is endangering these primates is the absence of modern global capitalism. If African societies had modern economies that generated the standard of living known in developed countries, Africans could get their protein intake the same way that we do, by cultivating sources of protein like beef, pork and chicken without having to endanger any species. It is the lack of a functioning free market and the lack of free trade that create the conditions where people have to hunt threatened species. Next time you hear someone decry that Wal-Mart superstore that sells untold tons of chicken for a pittance per pound, ask them if they'd prefer some bushmeat.