Extensive wildlife trade not only threatens species worldwide but can also lead to the transmission of zoonotic diseases. Research sheds new light on the motivations why people hunt, trade or consume different species. The research shows that more differentiated solutions are needed to prevent uncontrolled disease emergence and species decline.

Covid-19 and the associated global economic, health and societal distortions have shed light on the alarming threat of infectious diseases emerging at an increasing rate. Around 60 percent of emergent infectious diseases are zoonotic, originating in animals; among the most prominent are Sars, Mers, Ebola, HIV and Covid-19. More than two-thirds of those originate in wild species. Many voices have called for higher restrictions or even a blanket ban on the wildlife trade. This demand is also fuelled by the devastating effects of unsustainable hunting that threatens hundreds of species.

However, millions of people, especially in the Global South, depend on wild meat («bushmeat») for their livelihoods. Hunting and consuming wild meat is a vital part of their culture. Therefore, current strategies often aim at trade regulations, rather than the enforcement of strict bans. Even though species vary in their conservation value and their associated risk of transmitting zoonotic diseases, little is known about the reasons why people choose a certain species. «In order to make wildlife trade more sustainable, to prevent uncontrolled disease emergence and species decline, it is essential to know and understand these reasons, and I was surprised how little information existed on these,» explains lead author Mona Bachmann, doctoral researcher at the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research and the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology.

An international research team led by Mona Bachmann and Hjalmar Kuhl from the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology and the German Centre for Integrative Biodiversity Research studied a wildlife trading network in Cote d’Ivoire, West Africa. Since the wildlife trade is mostly illegal, people often hesitate to share information. With the help of local, trustable informants, often hunters or bushmeat traders themselves, the researchers were able to break the ice. Around 350 hunters, 200 bushmeat traders and 1,000 bushmeat consumers provided detailed insights into the wildlife trade and contributed to one of the most comprehensive data sets for a wildlife trading network to date.

Different species, different risks

In Sub-Saharan Africa alone, bushmeat trade encompasses over 500 species — from rats to elephants. Around 80 percent of the bushmeat biomass harvested in this region consists of fast-reproducing generalists like rodents, small-bodied duikers or antelopes. These species resist high levels of hunting and are a crucial component of livelihoods throughout rural areas. Replacing them with alternative animal proteins could substantially increase the exploitation of fish stocks or lead to habitat degradation to provide grazing land. Species that produce fewer offspring, like many primates, are threatened by even low levels of hunting. Since they are comparatively rare, they usually represent only a small percentage of a hunters’ catch. Additionally, different risks of zoonotic disease transmission are associated with those species. In general, proximity with humans — either in the phylogenetic sense, like many primates, or in the spatial sense, like rodents in areas highly populated by humans — can increase the risk of transmitting diseases.

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Materials provided by Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology. Note: Content may be edited for style and length.