Bushmeat hunting of wild primates causes acute suffering during capture and killing, orphans dependent young, and drives population declines across Central and West Africa.
The welfare suffering inflicted by bushmeat hunting is severe across multiple stages. Snare injuries cause prolonged pain and often result in limb loss in survivors; animals can remain trapped for days. The killing methods used in informal hunting rarely prioritise rapid death. Orphaned infants — particularly chimpanzees and gorillas — face acute psychological trauma from the sudden loss of their mother, on whom they would depend for years in the wild. Those kept as pets face lives of profound social deprivation with no members of their own species. Welfare interventions must address both the acute suffering of the hunt and the systemic conditions driving demand — primarily food security and lack of alternative protein sources in forest communities.