Those with relatives from the country have probably been regaled with stories about the consumption of wild animals. While many vegans can’t fathom the notion of eating a cute squirrel or an innocent deer, some communities develop their diets around their natural resources. In addition, public assistance is not always available to them. Traditional mores about food, like eating meat and potatoes every night, also mean that families unable to afford regular trips to the supermarket may turn to wild animals for protein and sustenance.

In rural America, animals like deer, quails, ducks, turtles, alligators, and even rabbits, are hunted and consumed. Meanwhile, in Brazil, Australia, and even parts of Africa, tortoises, snakes, monkeys, and kangaroos are treated like food depending on availability in those respective areas. Even beloved animals like horses are processed and eaten in certain parts of Europe, Asia, and Latin America. Over time, this can lead to the dwindling numbers of certain animal species. Trends indicate that eating habits are synonymous with urbanization, and it’s believed that a move from rural environments to cities can eradicate nutritional dependence on wild animals. 

Aside from the devastating impact of animal consumption on wildlife populations, there are other considerable ramifications to eating these species. Zoonotic illnesses have proliferated in recent decades. Influenza, salmonella, and trichinosis are just a few diseases that have made the leap from animal populations to humans. Bovine spongiform encephalopathy, or mad cow disease, snowballed throughout European countries, resulting in a ban on blood donations from certain residents for more than 30 years. There is even debate about COVID-19’s origins and a desire to prove or disprove it stemming from the human consumption of a tainted bat. While the process of “depopulation” is widely used in factory farms and by vector control, foodborne illness stemming from wild animals is often harder to trace, adding to the need to pivot away from this dietary practice.

According to the Convention on Migratory Species, “There is strong evidence that zoonotic disease emergence is linked to human activities that bring wildlife, domestic animals, and humans into increasingly intense contact, including encroachment into remaining natural habitats and transport of wildlife to urban centres. CMS species used for wild meat can be a potential source of new zoonotic outbreaks.”

Lessening dependence on food sources like bushmeat and regional wildlife can mean better health and better lives for the animals impacted. Rural populations are not at fault for relying on immediate resources to feed themselves. No matter how socially conscious it becomes, a society cannot live in blind judgment of people who may not have the requisite knowledge about other food options available to them. However, with greater grassroots efforts to promote and educate communities about veganism, individuals hailing from rural environments can and hopefully will decide to move away from wild animals as a primary food source. 

Source: CBS News, CMS