Critical research gaps in understanding Southeast Asian women’s wildlife trade and use practices

Abstract

The hunting and consumption of wildlife is a global practice with practices that are socially nested, mediated, and shared across social categories, including gender. Research into wildlife trade increasingly recognizes the importance of understanding and investigating social drivers and processes of hunting and consumption. However, studies of social norms, motivations, and actions specific to women are still lacking within wildlife trade literature, particularly within Southeast Asia. Women are central to how a society operates and to societal practices, and they are fundamental actors in initiating change in these practices. In Southeast Asia, women are especially powerful actors within resident matrilineal and bilateral societies. This article will reflect on wildlife trafficking through the roles and activities of women. While women’s narratives are lacking across all current wildlife trade research, I will highlight in this article critical research gaps, gender-specific issues in methodology, and important research opportunities.

Consumer characteristics and preferences for mobulid gill plates in China

“…According to the LCM model, consumers were divided into 3 groups with different preferences, among which the first group was mainly composed of women (Table 3). This confirms earlier findings that women are the main consumers of wildlife medicines (Davis, 2020; Ni et al., 2022; Shih et al., 2012) because they fill the traditional role of family caregivers (Davis, 2022). Chinese women dominate many household aspects, including family food consumption and family health maintenance, and the dominant role of housewives in the consumption of wildlife products has been documented for various wildlife products, such as rhinoceros horns, antelope horns, and succulents (Doughty et al., 2019; Margulies, 2020; USAID, 2017).…”

Motivations behind wild animal consumption in social media in Mexico: A case study

“…However, statistical analysis revealed a weak relationship with other variables, necessitating a larger sample size for a confident conclusion on whether IWT is a highly gendered activity in Mexico. Additionally, investigating potential vulnerabilities in specific target populations, such as females (Davis, 2022), could improve the MCA's explanatory power and yield more robust patterns.…”

“…Despite all the efforts to end this practice, it is challenging due to the multiple roles involved within the trade network, from people who capture wildlife to smugglers, intermediaries and final buyers (Carpio‐Domínguez et al., 2021). Furthermore, other actors involved along the supply chain usually pass unnoticed, like facilitators during the capture (Agu & Gore, 2022) and purchase and/or consumption phases (Davis, 2022; Davis et al., 2020). Thus, it is difficult to generate effective interventions even though these activities are sanctioned by local laws (Carpio‐Domínguez et al., 2018).…”