Chimpanzee meat is being served as a delicacy at British weddings and sold as 'bush meat' on market stalls, it has emerged.

The border force is under pressure to introduce DNA testing to identify the meat at customs and has said it would be investing in new technology to tackle the rising issue.

Leading primate scientist Dr Ben Garrod has said he was told by customs officials just weeks ago that a ton of bush meat from West Africa had been confiscated on a flight bound for the US.

He said it was routinely smuggled into Europe and the UK - which could cause the spread of serious disease as the meat is unsanitary and chimpanzees are very genetically similar to humans.

The University of East Anglia professor has called for DNA testing to be used on meat imports which come into the UK, and for more resources to be put into research in order to stop this trade.

“It's rife. It's there - it's in all the major cities across Europe and the US. We have seen bush meat confiscated in the UK in check points at borders and in markets," he told The Telegraph.

Chimpanzee experts have urged the government to take action. Dr Jane Goodall PhD, who founded primate charity the Jane Goodall institute, said: “The smuggling of bush meat is a very alarming issue. As Ben Garrod says, there is danger of disease spreading from the bush meat to humans.”