Bushmeat

The term bushmeat refers to any wild meat or game meat derived from wildlife species. While the term is meant to include nonhuman primates, other mammals, birds, reptiles, and amphibians, large‐bodied, terrestrial, and/or arboreal mammal species are most typically referenced. The representation of bushmeat and “the bushmeat crisis” as a primate‐centered issue stems primarily from the fragility of targeted slow‐reproducing ape species, specifically the African apes. Globally, bushmeat represents a major source of food and income for both rural and urban human populations. The cultural significance of bushmeat to local diets results in greater challenges for sustainable development programs which must integrate complex sets of information across ecologies, economies, and cultures. The trade in bushmeat is highly criminalized due to the increasingly prevalent use of illegal hunting methods (e.g., guns, wire cable snares), unsustainable off‐takes, and the hunting of protected species.