Patterns of wild meat and other protein consumption in the periphery of Salonga National Park, Democratic Republic of the Congo

Abstract In Central Africa, human activities are severely impacting terrestrial and aquatic wildlife, threatening the food security of millions of people. Accordingly, sustainable use of wildlife is crucial for the nutrition and livelihoods of many rural communities in the region. Across 12 months, we conducted 24‐h recall interviews 7 days per month with 457 households from six villages in the periphery of Salonga National Park, a biodiversity hotspot in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to (i) quantify the relative contributions of each food source to the villagers' diet and (ii) explore the cultural, social and economic factors amplifying dependence on wild foods. Analysis of 24,819 recall events revealed wild meat as a year‐round food source, while fish and insects were ingested more seasonally. Wild meat was the only product purchased in more than 50% of cases. The consumption of legumes and domestic meat was negligible, with the latter exceeding the price of wild meat by >75%. Prey was highly diverse with 49 wildlife taxa, of which 35 were mammals, from 24 identified families, 29 genera and 33 species. Over the course of 12 weeks, we recorded 5975 kg of wild meat consumed. Medium‐sized ungulates contributed most to the consumed biomass, while rodents and small ungulates represented >50% of consumed taxa. With a mean consumption rate of 49 g/person/day, wild meat contributed approximately 10 g of protein (18%) to the recommended daily protein intake. Required protein intake was met only in three out of 12 months, when fish and insects were abundant. Wild meat consumption was favoured by higher income and education level, as well as by the proportion of men and the number of hunters in a household. It was negatively related to household size and to the presence of breastfeeding women. Even in one of Central Africa's biodiversity hotpots, wildlife is under increasing pressure from a population striving to satisfy dietary and economic needs. Sustainable forest and wildlife management, and alternative cash income are key to maintaining the millennia‐old balance between humans and wildlife necessary for the livelihood security of present and future generations. Read the free Plain Language Summary for this article on the Journal blog.