National Geographic Publishes Worlds Most Disturbing Photo

A couple of posts ago I was on about how we regard some animals as different from others and the fads of the day dictate if we consider them as appropriate for food or commercial exploitation. In the same vein I think the people at National Geographic wanted to publish a photo that would shock people to make a point. It is a very disturbing image concerning the bush meat industry in Africa. It seems that the appearance of oil money in some parts of Africa has resulted in a demand for bush meat and apes appear high on the menu.

This image shows the body of an ape being prepared for market. It seems that the value of the meat is increased if the hair is removed before sale but the skin is intact so they burn it off with a blowtorch. That is the image below.

LINK TO ARTICLE

This image is disturbing to me on a number of levels and I think that the National Geographic Society is going to get a lot of outrage going over this. I hope their gamble pays off. The trade in bush meat that results in these kinds of images needs to stop. But then again I wonder how much meat we would eat if we could see the killing floors of the industrial slaughterhouses of North America. Perhaps it is time for the National Geographic to point it's lens at our own culture before it ignites outrage over other cultures even if it is justified.