This report – the first of its kind – identifies the impacts of wild meat taking, trade and consumption of terrestrial species that are protected by CMS. It puts a spotlight on species such as antelopes, primates, and carnivores and points to the need for greater attention to the taking of globally protected wildlife purely for domestic use as opposed to international trade. The study also highlights the need to assess national legislation and enforcement capacity, as well as the linkages between zoonotic diseases and wild meat. 

Prepared for the CMS Secretariat by the Center for International Forestry Research (CIFOR), this publication is a significant first step towards closing the knowledge gap on the impacts of such use of migratory species of wild animals.

The aim of this report is to contribute to the implementation of CMS Decision 13.109 – Addressing Unsustainable Use of Terrestrial and Avian Wild Meat of Migratory Species of Wild Animals – by assessing, the direct and indirect impacts of wild meat taking, trade and consumption for each of the CMS terrestrial mammal species covered by CMS Appendices I and / or II, as well as the following species: Gazella bennettii, Pantholops hodgsonii, and Procapra picticaudata (all under CMS Central Asian Mammals Initiative); and Myotis aurascens, Otonycteris hemprichii, Plecotus kolombatovici, Plecotus macrobullaris, Plecotus sardus, Rousettus aegyptiacus, and Taphozous nudiventris (all listed under the Agreement on the Conservation of Populations of European Bats (EUROBATS)).