Policies that seem sound on paper often falter in practice, as shown by ongoing efforts to regulate wild meatmarkets across Central Africa for public health and environmental conservation.

As Cameroon works to implement its new wildlife and forestry law, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) considers updating its own, understanding which measures are most effective — and grounded in science — is essential to making a real difference for people and nature.

So which interventions could most encourage informal market vendors — a crucial yet often overlooked group — to stop selling protected species?

Scientists from the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry(CIFOR-ICRAF), the University of Oxford and partner organizations put five policy scenarios to the test through interviews with wild meat traders in Yaoundé, Cameroon, and Kinshasa, DRC. The goal: to challenge assumptions and generate evidence-based recommendations to inform future policies. 

“Understanding the perceptions and motivations of wild meat traders is key to designing effective laws, policies and interventions,” said lead author Eric Djomo Nana, affiliated with the University of Oxford and Cameroon’s Institute for Agricultural Research for Development (IRAD) in Yaoundé. “There’s been a lot of focus on hunters and consumers. We wanted to bring more insights on traders, a pinch point in the supply chain.” 

Three promising approaches emerged. First, public campaigns aimed at raising awareness among consumers and reducing demand for protected species, which are seen as a luxury delicacy among urban elites. Second, providing livelihood and enterprise training to vendors so they can tap into alternative income streams. And third, ensuring more consistent enforcement of existing laws.

“Interventions that would increase the risk of involvement in an illegal activity or significantly reduce the level of profit made from selling bushmeat would lead to the greatest change in behaviour,” the study notes. 

Incentives and deterrents 

Globally, the billion-dollar wild meat trade leads to annual offtakes of an estimated 100 million animals from 6,000 different species. While the trade puts pressure on vulnerable species and poses risks of emerging infectious diseases, many still view the consumption and sale of wild meat as a legitimate right rooted in cultural identity and subsistence. 

As a result, law enforcement often tolerates the trade as part of the informal economy. Few traders hold permits to sell non-endangered species, and hunting permits are only valid for six months each year in both Cameroon and DRC — yet wild meat is sold year-round.

Researchers presented five scenarios and assessed vendors’ responses through four indicators: fairness, willingness to stop selling protected species, likelihood of switching activities, and effects on profit compared with business as usual.

One surprising finding was that authorizing the trade of resilient, fast-reproducing species like rodents without a sale permit would not deter traders from selling meat from protected wild animals. Many respondents said officials already overlook such sales.

“This suggests decision-makers should treat this option, as it may simply perpetuate the status quo unless accompanied by stronger enforcement against protected species,” the study cautioned.

Conversely, trade in endangered species would likely decline if law enforcement officers and civil society groups jointly staffed permanent checkpoints along rural-to-urban roads in Cameroon and river ports in DRC. Such collaboration could reduce bribery and improve compliance.

Local realities 

In past attempts to direct Congolese vendors toward other activities, wild meat counters were often taken over by relatives. Selling wild meat is commonly a family business, passed on with pride from one generation of women to the next.

While vendors expressed interest in training in activities of their choice, researchers stressed that interventions should not aim to exclude them entirely from the sector. Instead, traders should be offered legal and reliable ways to earn income during the off-season, helping them comply with the law.

“We need informal vendors to be recognized. We need traceability from forest to market to minimize the trade in endangered species and animals from protected areas. And we need serious law enforcement,” said Nana.

Awareness-raising campaigns can also be powerful if they reduce demand through culturally sensitive messaging that supports sustainable consumption, rather than insisting on replacing wild meat with other proteins, which may be seen as an external imposition.

Nana sees the most promise in introducing environmental curricula in schools and working with local religious leaders, who strongly influence community behaviour.

As for domestic meat, the study points out that the rise in prices of products like chicken and pork could compromise their role as a supplement to wild meat consumption —an issue that warrants further research, together with the combined effect of the various scenarios. 

For the time being, researchers are focused on bringing their findings to the attention of policy-makers working on national wild meat strategies and laws in Central Africa —more science for more effective and fairer solutions.