Meat from the Wild: Extractive Uses of Wildlife and Alternatives for Sustainability

This chapter introduces extractive uses of wildlife and explores the potential for sustainable use. The fi rst section provides a glance of the different types of extractive use and motivations for hunting. The second section discusses the drivers and impacts of unsustainable use on wildlife populations and ecosystems. The last section highlights current methodological caveats for measuring sustainability in a holistic manner and the difficulty of managing for uncertainty in the system. Some of the more promising alternatives for sustainable use are presented. This chapter focuses on terrestrial wildlife, mainly mammals, and although covering different functions of hunting, the focus is on the use of meat from the wild.