In many areas, bush meat also represents the only viable source of meat protein, with domestic meat being prohibitively expensive and largely unavailable. In six of the seven countries surveyed, bush meat was substantially cheaper than domestic meat. In Zimbabwe, bush meat was 75 percent less expensive. People rely on bush meat the most during periods of drought or famine, the report found. Hence supply peaks during times of hardship and constitutes an important drought and famine coping strategy for the majority in the rural areas surveyed.
Elephants are part of the growing bush meat trade.
Thousands of species, from insects to rodents to elephants, are killed for their meat. With declining populations of more popular species such as buffalo, hunters have now turned their attention to once taboo and totem species such as zebras and hippos. One recommendation in the report involves the transfer of wildlife ownership from the government to landholders and local communities. The main thrust of our recommendations is that the resource be managed and managed sustainably through activities such as wildlife ranching and commercial utilization of the wildlife resource. Game meat production in all of the countries studied suffers from veterinary restrictions associated with the transfer of wildlife-borne diseases to domestic livestock, the study found.