Enhancing hotspot mapping of illegal wild meat trade in Kenya through market surveys and confiscated meat analyses

Illegal trade of wild meat pose a severe threat to the survival of wildlife populations. The decline in the number of some species has been directly linked to these illegal activities. Poachers and traders of illegal wild meat products often mask them as livestock meat to sell to consumers who may or may not be complicit. However, new technologies can more accurately identify the genetic makeup of confiscated wild meat and meat sold in markets. Random meat sampling and molecular analysis are routinely used in detecting wild meat, leading to identifying illegal trade hotspots. Here, we documented incidences of wild meat prevalence in butcheries in Kenya through random sampling and compared the proportion of meat that tested positive with wild meat exhibits confiscated by officers in conservation management areas (CA) over a two‐year period that corresponded with the sampling period. As such, we sought to map illegal trade hotspots within five CA to guide management and policies. 241 meat samples from market surveys conducted between 2020–2021 were sequenced for species identification using standard mammalian barcoding whereas 112 samples obtained from confiscations over the same period were analyzed using the same method for comparison. In total, over a seven‐year period (2015–2021), 567 samples were confiscated by law enforcement officers. Out of the 241 meat samples that were purchased, 13 tested positive for wild meat. Overall, market sampling underestimated incidences of wild meat trade. However, the combined dataset identified Southern, Central Rift and Tsavo CA as dominant hotspots in both volume and species richness for illegal wild meat trade. Our study emphasizes the importance of countrywide and enhanced monitoring of threatened species, as well as strengthened coordination between local intelligence gathering and field operations to protect biodiversity, determine trade routes and transit hubs, and refine the effectiveness of policy.