Is wild meat luxury? Quantifying wild meat demand and availability in Hue, Vietnam

Abstract

Increasing urban wild meat consumption in Vietnam poses a major threat to faunal biodiversity. However, little is known about the numbers, demand, social status, and frequency of wildlife meat consumers in Thua Thien Hue province, where wild meat consumption appears to be common. We combined the results of 329 semi-structured interviews of male Hue citizens in Thua Thien Hue province, Vietnam, with interviews in 20 restaurants to quantify the supply and demand of urban wildlife consumption. We found that 58% of respondents were current wild meat consumers. The most common species reported (in 30% of the cases) was wild pig (Sus scrofa). Our results described a typical consumer as a student or being unemployed, usually with higher education, and eating wild meat three times a year. Most (72%) wild meat consumption in Hue city took place in restaurants. Restaurant surveys showed that government staff were the most observed customers in restaurants. Farmed wild meat consumption in Hue was rarely reported (in 23% of the cases); and a typical consumer of farmed wild meat had high education levels. Missing legal mechanisms such as the inability to punish and fining the wild meat consumers was claimed to be an important reason why wild meat consumption has not yet declined. Our combination of survey methods provided different stakeholder views and highlighted the urgent need to monitor the patterns and frequency of wild meat consumption for further law amendments.