Food standards experts have said that bushmeat - an illegal import prized by some African communities in the UK - is as harmless to eat as any other meat if cooked correctly.

A study by the Food Standards Agency says that the meat is harmless to eat when cooked, but poses an "extremely low" risk of life-threatening infection from anthrax, brucellosis and monkeypox virus to people who come into contact with it before it is cooked.

Anthrax and brucellosis are already found in the UK and the import of bushmeat does not significantly increase the risk to public health, the report says. But monkeypox, which is common in animals in some parts of Africa, is a "resilient" virus which poses a new, albeit extremely slight, risk to public health.

Bushmeat can refer to meat from any wild animal, including endangered species such as gorillas. It is smuggled into the UK and sold from some shops and market stalls, mainly in London.

The report has prompted questions within the FSA about whether certain bushmeats could be farmed for import to the UK.

Roger Skinner, who wrote the report, said: "It is theoretically possible to have a legal trade which would meet the objections [about] the animals' health and wellbeing and meet any concerns in relation to human health."