A complete rethink of traditional approaches to addressing the issue of hunting wildlife for food is necessary if vulnerable species are to be saved, according to Dr. Eleanor Milner-Gulland, a Reader in Conservation Science at Imperial College, London.

At a Macaulay Institute seminar in Aberdeen this week, Dr Milner-Gulland will show how increasing households’ agricultural incomes may not help in this respect as this may shift hunting from snaring to more efficient technology, such as using guns, increasing the pressure on vulnerable species.

‘Dig or snare? Embedding bushmeat in the wider economy’ takes place at 2pm on Wednesday 9 November in the Grampian Room at the Macaulay Institute, Craigiebuckler, Aberdeen.

Speaking about the seminar, Dr Milner-Gulland, said: “I will be discussing the importance of looking at the wider economy of Central and West Africa when considering the impact and sustainability of hunting for bushmeat.

“I develop a theoretical model of the dynamics of bushmeat hunting, including factors such as the cost to the hunter, changes in consumer demand and prices, and show how static indices of sustainability can be misleading.

“I also develop a model of a farmer-hunter household economy, in which the household can choose to invest their labour in hunting or agriculture. I will show that increasing returns to agriculture can actually increase pressure on vulnerable species by shifting effort away from snaring into more productive but costly gun-hunting.”

Dr Milner-Gulland concludes that there is a lot more research still to be done to establish ways of resolving this issue in a sustainable manner.

About 3.4 million tonnes of bushmeat are traded in the Congo Basin every year.

Species of ‘bushmeat’, any animal that is hunted for food in a tropical forest, range in size from snails through cane rats and duikers to crocodiles and the great apes.

Anyone interested in attending this Wednesday’s Macaulay seminar should contact Jane Lund on tel: 01224 498200, email: