Subsistence hunting for food provides essential protein to hundreds of millions of people in food-insecure regions, with welfare implications that differ significantly from commercial and trophy hunting contexts.
Subsistence hunting welfare sits at the intersection of food security, indigenous rights, and animal welfare in ways that require nuanced engagement. The welfare harms of subsistence hunting — particularly from less accurate traditional methods — are real, but the human welfare consequences of eliminating subsistence hunting without providing alternatives are also severe. The most welfare-positive approach supports food security alternatives, works with communities on more humane hunting methods, and distinguishes sharply between subsistence use and commercial extraction that drives wildlife population collapse.