Changes in wild meat hunting and use by rural communities during the COVID-19 socio-economic shock

There is limited quantitative evidence of the effects of socio-economic shocks on biological resource use. Focusing on wild meat hunting, a substantial livelihood and food source in tropical regions, we evaluated the impacts of the shock from Nigeria’s COVID-19 lockdown on species exploitation around a global biodiversity hotspot. Using a three-year quantitative dataset collected during and after the lockdown (covering 1,008 hunter-months) and matching by time of year, we found that successful hunting trip rates were more frequent during lockdown, with a corresponding increase in the monthly number, mass, and value of animals caught. Moreover, hunters consumed a larger proportion of wild meat and sold less during lockdown compared to non-lockdown periods. These results suggest that local communities relied on wild meat to supplement reduced food and income during lockdown, buffering COVID-19’s socio-economic shock. Our findings also indicate that wild species may be especially vulnerable to increased hunting pressure during such shocks.