Bushmeat Hunting, Wildlife Declines, and Fish Supply in West Africa

TLDR

The multibillion‑dollar bushmeat trade threatens tropical vertebrates, yet its drivers and welfare impacts remain poorly understood due to limited data. Using 30 years of Ghana data, the authors linked mammal declines to the bushmeat trade and to spatial and temporal changes in fish availability. Years of poor fish supply coincided with increased hunting and sharp declines in 41 wildlife species, and market data show a direct link between fish supply and bushmeat demand, underscoring the need for cheap protein alternatives and improved fisheries management to prevent extinctions.

Abstract

The multibillion-dollar trade in bushmeat is among the most immediate threats to the persistence of tropical vertebrates, but our understanding of its underlying drivers and effects on human welfare is limited by a lack of empirical data. We used 30 years of data from Ghana to link mammal declines to the bushmeat trade and to spatial and temporal changes in the availability of fish. We show that years of poor fish supply coincided with increased hunting in nature reserves and sharp declines in biomass of 41 wildlife species. Local market data provide evidence of a direct link between fish supply and subsequent bushmeat demand in villages and show bushmeat's role as a dietary staple in the region. Our results emphasize the urgent need to develop cheap protein alternatives to bushmeat and to improve fisheries management by foreign and domestic fleets to avert extinctions of tropical wildlife.