The Conference of the Parties to CITES (CoP) has recognized since 2004 that implementation of CITES-listing decisions should take into account potential impacts on the livelihoods of poor rural communities. At the most recent meeting of the CoP held in Bangkok in 2013, the Parties took a further important step through recognizing that the implementation of CITES is better achieved with the engagement of rural communities. Two important CITES resolutions on this topic have been adopted by the Parties: Resolution Conf. 8.3 (Rev. CoP13), on the recognition of the benefi ts of trade in wildlife and Resolution Conf. 16.6 on CITES and livelihoods. In addition, CITES Decisions 16.17 to 16.25 relating to CITES and livelihoods were also adopted at CoP16 in Bangkok in 2013. These decisions put forward a roadmap on how these questions could be tackled between CoP16 and the following CoP17, at the end of 2016 in South Africa. Basically, they call for the creation of a set of tools for assessing the impacts of CITES listings on livelihoods; the preparation of guidelines on the prevention and mitigation of negative impacts; and the performance of case studies, both specifi c studies on each species and thematic studies.
Tag: bushmeat
Hunting primates and managing forests: the case of Iban forest farmers in Indonesian Borneo
Hunting by Iban forest farmers in West Kalimantan, Indonesia, is an important part of their subsistence economy, and as such became a focus of study as part of a conservation project in the Danau Sentarum Wildlife Reserve. In this paper, we examine Iban hunting of nonhuman primates with comparison to other large mammals. We analyze rates of encounter and capture, comparing encounters, hunting trips, and animal numbers. Information on habitats hunted shows the importance of secondary and old growth forest. Also examined are Iban attitudes, game preferences, and taboos. The significance of these findings is discussed with regard to the threats to wildlife from increases in the use of shotguns, human population, and habitat destruction, showing that conservation may be aided by promoting or enhancing certain aspects of the traditional Iban agroforestry system.
Roadway seizures reveal widespread illegal wild meat use and faunal downsizing in Brazil
Illegal and unsustainable wild meat use is simplifying vertebrate assemblages across the Neotropics, yet robust information on offtake magnitude and use patterns remains scarce. We used nationwide road-seizure records from Brazil’s Federal Highway Police (Polícia Rodoviária Federal; PRF) from 2017 to 2024, focusing on hunted animals and wild meat intercepted during transport, to quantify the scale and composition of illegal offtake. We then tested whether these enforcement records reproduce expected ecological signals of illegal hunting by examining whether seizure yield and taxonomic composition track state-level defaunation. Across 314 independent events, PRF intercepted ∼9,479 individual animals, totalling ∼9.3 t of biomass, revealing substantial and taxonomically structured pressure on wildlife. The Amazon and Caatinga biomes accounted for the largest shares of events and individuals, respectively. Seized birds dominated numerically in Caatinga, whereas mammals supplied most biomass overall, with reptiles contributing disproportionately in the Amazon and Cerrado–Pantanal biomes. Generalized linear models showed that with increasing defaunation, events involved more individuals but less biomass per seizure, and the mean body mass of seized vertebrates declined. In addition, the proportion of mammals decreased while birds became more prevalent. This convergence with known depletion patterns indicates that road-seizure data can serve as a cost-effective barometer of illegal wild-meat use and its defaunation-linked “downsizing” effect. Targeted responses should pair highway and riverine enforcement, standardize inter-agency reporting (species, counts, biomass, geolocation, product form), and combine access control with community partnerships, livelihood alternatives, and health-risk communication to reduce demand and long-term ecological and public-health impacts.
Challenges in understanding and communicating the risk of zoonotic disease spillover from wild animal meat
Discussions around managing hunting and the consumption of wild animal meat increasingly emphasizes public health concerns and the risk of zoonotic spillover. In this article, we explore factors that may lead to under- or overestimating health risks from wild meat and break down key terminology for a multidisciplinary audience. We outline key principles of disease ecology and epidemiology that are often overlooked when quantifying spillover risk, and reflect on the importance of contextualizing health risks relative to food-health systems more broadly. We discuss how misrepresenting risks, intentionally or unintentionally, to justify conservation practices can have unintended negative conservation and public health consequences—despite the importance of conservation in protecting human health more broadly. We stress the importance of considering individual and local health outcomes (food security, neglected tropical diseases, etc.), not only those impacting global health (i.e. pandemic prevention). Finally, we advocate for evidence-informed, context-appropriate strategies for wild meat management.
Pangolin hunting in southeast Nigeria is motivated more by local meat consumption than international demand for scales
Pangolins are the world’s most trafficked wild mammals, yet the drivers of their exploitation vary across regions. This study surveyed 809 hunters and meat vendors in Nigeria—Africa’s largest pangolin trafficking hub—and found that 98% of pangolins are hunted for meat, not scales. Most are captured opportunistically during general hunting, with 71% consumed by hunters and 27% sold locally. Despite global attention on the illegal scale trade, 70% of scales are discarded, and meat fetches three to four times the price of scales. These findings challenge dominant narratives and highlight the need for conservation policies that address local consumption drivers alongside international trafficking.
The Harvest of Tropical Wildlife for Bushmeat and Traditional Medicine
Bushmeat is not only an important source of fat, micronutrients, and macronutrients, but it also has medicinal uses. Extensive human–wildlife interactions may lead to pathogen exchange and trigger zoonotic infectious disease outbreaks such as severe acute respiratory syndrome, Ebola, and coronavirus disease 2019. In the tropics, bushmeat has become one of the most threatened resources due to widespread habitat loss and overexploitation, largely driven by increased global demand, weak governance, and lack of enforcement. Unsustainable harvesting, consumption, and production practices are common, although drivers are complex and intertwined and vary regionally, pointing to a looming rural nutrition security and wildlife conservation issue. Growing demand in fast urbanizing markets coupled with easy access fuels the illegal trade of bushmeat, medicinal products, and wildlife-based luxury goods. Although bushmeat contributes significantly to rural people’s income and poverty alleviation, overharvesting impacts those who are most dependent on the forest. To balance the rural and cultural importance of bushmeat with conservation and public health priorities, strategies to safeguard tropical biodiversity, sustainable harvest of wildlife with reduced health risk for nutrition and medicine are urgently needed.