SOAS Research Online

Abstract

Conservation organizations have increasingly raised concerns about escalating rates of illegal hunting and trade in wildlife. Previous studies have concluded that people hunt illegally because they are financially poor or that they lack alternative livelihood strategies. However, there has been little attempt to develop a richer understanding of the motivations behind contemporary illegal wildlife hunting. As a first step this paper analyses academic and policy literatures and engages in key debates in the social sciences about the meanings of poverty and the relative importance of structure and individual agency. We place motivations for illegal wildlife hunting within the context of the complex history of how wildlife laws were initially designed and enforced. We also consider the nature of poverty and the reasons for economic deprivation in particular communities. We conclude that there is a need for a much better understanding of what poverty is and what motivates people to hunt illegally.