Ghana
National Parks
Ghana has 21 protected areas that include 7 national parks, 6 nature parks, 2 wildlife sanctuaries and 5 coastal wetlands. The most popular of these are Digya National Park, with its large interior estuary; Kakum National Park, a rainforest in the central region, rich in flora and fauna and that has access to the jungle located 30 kilometers north of the Cape coast, and Mole National Park, an old hunting ground in the northern region of Ghana that has a great abundance of wildlife.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s40-avistamientos
Wild animal meat
More than half of the 20 million people living in Ghana live up to 100 km from the coast and depend on fish as the main product of their diet. As fish stocks have declined and prices have risen, several people have had to resort to wild animal meat as an alternative source of protein. The trade of the meat of these animals (known as bushmeat) in Ghana is estimated to move more than 400,000 tons of meat per year and the affected species include antelopes, carnivores and small primates.
Ghana's forests are part of the Upper Guinean Hotspot, one of the 25 biologically richest and most threatened ecosystems in the world. In Ghana alone, there are 59 species of endangered mammals, many of which continue being offered as meat in such markets. When eating at a local restaurant, find out beforehand what is on the menu so as not to encourage this trade which, among other things, is leading to increased poaching.
More information: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s82
Horse rides
On the beach of La Pleasure, tourists are offered horse riding. These horses have to work long hours in the sun and high temperatures and when they are not working, as reported by local animal protection organizations, they are kept in miserable conditions.
For more information on this topic: http://turismo-responsable.com/en-s24
Here is a list of local NGOs that can be contacted in case you want to make a donation, a complaint or find an animal that needs help in Ghana:
