Hunting of Primates in the Tropics: Drivers, Unsustainability, and Ecological and Socio-economic Consequences

Koné, Inza; Refisch, Johannes; Robinson, Carolyn A. Jost; Ayoola, Adeola O.

doi:10.1007/978-3-031-11736-7_4

Cited by 1 publication

(1 citation statement)

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“…Sixty-five percent of primate species are at risk of extinction (vulnerable—20%, endangered—28%, critically endangered—17%) [ 2 ], and hunting is a leading cause of primate population decline [ 3 , 4 ]. Reductions in primate populations not only harm ecological systems but also human sociocultural and socioeconomic systems [ 5 ]. Because of extreme poverty in many primate-range regions, primate hunting and consumption are useful coping strategies that provide essential income [ 4 , 6 ], calories, macronutrients (e.g., protein, fat), and micronutrients (e.g., zinc, iron) [ 7 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A Nuanced Examination of Primate Capture and Consumption and Human Socio-Economic Well-Being in Kirindy Mitea National Park, Madagascar

Romanello,

Thompson,

Borgerson

et al. 2023

Animals

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The futures of human and nonhuman primates are closely tied in protected areas. Understanding this interconnectedness is especially urgent in Madagascar, one of the world’s most impoverished biodiversity hotspots. Yet, no study has evaluated the relationship between poverty and lemur hunting and consumption using a composite poverty metric that includes health, education, and living standards. To address this gap, and to inform primate conservation practice and policy, we administered annual surveys to 81 households over six consecutive months (September 2018 to March 2019) in a village on the border of Kirindy Mitea National Park, Madagascar. We observed extreme deprivation scores across multiple dimensions of poverty and identified ninety-five percent of households as ‘impoverished’. Of these, three-quarters (77%) of households were identified as being in ‘severe poverty’. One-fifth (19%) of all households hunted lemurs and half (49%) of households consumed lemurs. While poverty eradication is an urgent need in communities around Kirindy Mitea National Park, our findings show no relationship between poverty and lemur hunting and consumption, perhaps due to the lack of variance in poverty. Our results highlight the need to investigate other contributory factors to lemur hunting and consumption locally. Because food insecurity is a known driver of lemur hunting and consumption among the study community, and because domestic meats can be preferred over protected species, we recommend testing the efficacy of livestock interventions near Kirindy Mitea National Park.

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