While voodoo may mean different things to different people, it means only one thing - death - to the animals used in voodoo rituals. Across Africa, at least 354 bird species are persecuted for rapidly growing international markets to supply wildlife for belief-based treatments in voodoo and related practices. In Bénin, West Africa, although ~50% of the population identifies as Christian, voodoo is recognized by the government as a national religion. Voodoo markets include both live animals offered for use in ritual sacrifice as well as animal carcasses and body parts. Vultures and other raptors are among the most traded and valuable products sold in voodoo markets. Bénin's laws ban the hunting, capture, possession, and trade of vultures, but there has never been a prosecution relating to this legislation. Despite the fact that much of this trade is illegal, markets in Bénin feature at least 268 bird species, 96 mammal species, and 59 reptile species, and vultures feature prominently.