Toronto's dining scene is well known for its constellation of delicious dishes from around the world. But according to recent research by an American wildlife biologist, the city also has a culinary dark side: a bustling trade in bush meat, making it a prime destination for thousands of kilograms of slaughtered wild animals smuggled from Africa.

Justin Brashares, an assistant professor at the University of California at Berkeley, is conducting a study of illegal bush meat markets in seven European and North American cities, including Toronto and Montreal. He found the two Canadian cities top the list, with West African expatriate volunteers helping him to identifying more than 1,000 kilograms arriving monthly in each city.

In some cases, Prof. Brashares said, meat is sent to Toronto via the postal system, partly because of its stricter regulations governing what is allowed to be seized and searched. In other cases, raw meat was simply stuffed in suitcases and taken on a plane.

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"There are stories of suitcases dripping blood coming around the carousel," Prof. Brashares said.

Bush meat markets have thrived for years in Africa and Asia. And when an African expatriate cab driver in New York showed him where he could buy bush meat in the city, Prof. Brashares was surprised to find that the trade is alive and well in Europe and North America. He asked West African expats to help him study the phenomenon.

Bush meat is the term used to describe meat from wild animals, including primates. It is a thriving business in parts of Africa and Asia because it provides poor villagers with income, and is widely consumed in many African villages.

According to Prof. Brashares, about 70 to 90 per cent of the bush meat that comes into cities such as Toronto and Montreal is consumed by people who ate the meat when they were growing up in their home countries. But a small portion ends up as a high-end, expensive delicacy, satisfying some people's culinary curiosity.

Critics say bush meat consumption is helping to wipe out several species of wild animals, especially primates. Prof. Brashares's study found that primate meat made up a larger percentage of bush meat in oversees markets than in African ones. Antelope is the most popular export, followed by rodents.

Over the years, the bush meat trade has morphed from "occasional to massive," according to Kerry Bowman, assistant professor at the University of Toronto's joint centre for bioethics and founder of the Canadian Ape Alliance.

Three acts apply to anyone caught shipping bush meat into Canada. The most serious penalties include fines of $250,000 and up to three years in prison. That people continue risking these stiff penalties shows just how big a business bush meat is, Prof. Bowman said.

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The Canada Border Services Agency doesn't have specific statistics for bush meat, but more than 59,000 kilograms of illegal meat was seized at 12 airports in Canada during the 2005-06 fiscal year.

Prof. Bowman had heard rumours of bush meat making its way to Montreal and Toronto, he said, but because the practice is illegal, much of it may end up in private hands and hidden behind counters.

Indeed, some of Prof. Brashares's volunteers are involved in the trade.

"It's quite an acquired taste, literally and figuratively," Prof. Bowman said in a phone interview from Egypt, where he is doing environmental work for the United Nations. "The appetite for it is amazing."

In Africa, the bush meat trade is often directly related to the logging business, he said. When loggers cut roads into the Congo basin, for example, hunters are usually the first to follow, often bringing meat back on logging trucks, he added.

"It's a huge, huge problem."

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The bush meat trade not only contributes to the extinction of animal species, but also it poses serious health hazards. One of the greatest health risks occurs during butchering.

"You have a lot of blood," said Michael Schillaci, assistant professor at the University of Toronto at Scarborough's anthropology department, "there's a high risk of exposure."

The most well-known disease associated with primate butchering is HIV, Prof. Schillaci said. And in "wet markets," where domesticated and wild animals mix, there is a risk that an animal could contract two illnesses, such as avian and human influenza. A resulting hybrid virus could contain elements of both diseases, making it harder to combat.

Prof. Brashares said it appears that while there is a serious attempt being made to curtail the bush meat trade, it isn't generally considered a priority.

"The impression is that officers are catching about 1 per cent of what's coming in," he said.