Online trade of wild game meat: Implications for public health and conservation

Trade in wild game meat (WGM) is increasing in online markets. However, the distribution of WGM in online trade remains unclear, and our limited knowledge has prevented sustainable WGM consumption that reduces the risks to human health and overcomes the challenges in wildlife management and biodiversity conservation. To explore the trends and challenges of online transactions of WGM, we analyzed the sales data from the online consumer-to-consumer market in Japan. Results revealed a high propensity to trade the lean meat. Our results also showed that transactions of edible offal were significantly positive and relatively more common in wild boar and black bear. In the brown bear, the coefficient for the sales numbers of "hand and foot" was significantly positive. Findings indicate that the online consumer-to-consumer market can be a new opportunity to distribute WGM. The development of guidelines and regulatory systems could help to avoid the risks associated with WGM consumption.