Wild Meat: A Symbol of Status That Threatens the Wildlife in Southeast Asian Forest

There are many ways to demonstrate your wealth and power. And in Cambodia and some other Southeast Asian countries, consuming wild meat is one of those.

While in rural areas, forest animal meats are just delicacies, in the capital of Phnom Penh and other major cities, it is an elite practice, according to Regine Weckauf, an illegal wildlife trade advisor from Fauna and Fiora International.

The wild meat trade is illegal, which makes it expensive. And among men in the city, it creates a false connotation that they are untouchable because they can do something illegal.

The increasing demand for forest animal meat has led to a growing number of snares collected by conservation groups. From 2010 to 2015, at least 200,000 snares—a trap that binds animal that passed or stepped on it—made from bicycle brake cables were confiscated and retrieved from the five protected areas alone. 

Thomas Gray of Wild Alliance, a non-profit conservation group that operated in Cambodia, called this a "phenomenal" problem over the decade and the "biggest threat" to ground-dwelling animals, not just in Cambodia but also in neighboring countries like Laos and Vietnam.

Edible animals like wild pigs and deer are often the target, but everything can be trapped, including those that have no economic values. Unfortunately, undesired animals were just left to die from starvation and rot. Some animals were able to free themselves by cutting off limbs but are still likely to die from injuries.

If this overgrazing will not be controlled or stopped, conservationists said that it will lead to a scenario called "empty forest syndrome"—where a forest becomes devoid of wildlife that once thrived there.

Traditionally, snares are made from decomposable tree vines. About fifty years ago, people will only set snares somewhere near their village for consumption.

But the impact of economic development, such as massive deforestation and technological advancement in the form of rough road vehicles, developed hunting to livelihood. The deeper parts of the forest became accessible to poachers, allowing them to deplete the wildlife population faster.

According to the analysis conducted by the University of Maryland and Global Forest Watch, the deforestation in Cambodia increased by at least fourfold in 2014 compared to 2001. The country is, in fact, one of the biggest deforestations in the world.

Yet Grey claimed that even before the forest was cleared, the animal community inside it was already depleted.

Because of this trend, some animals are facing a rapid population decline. For instance, the saola, an antelope-like creature that was discovered only in 1992, is close to extinction. A wild dog with yellowish brown color called dhole is also highly endangered. Both of these species are victims of snares and have no market value.

Wildlife Alliance has at least 110 forest rangers at its disposable that operate "24/7" to remove snares. In 2018, with the help of the Cambodian Ministry of Environment, they were able to confiscate 20,000 snares and destroy at least 800 poacher's camps.

Yet Grey claimed it is not nearly enough, especially when snaring is still a "risk-free crime." He wanted a legislative reform where "intent on snaring" is treated as a serious crime.

Fauna & Flora International has a proposed plan of working with marketing firms and communication specialists to make people stop consuming wild meat.

Gray added that this effort is essential because the extinction of these species also meant "lost of heritage" and "million years of evolution" that made the wildlife of Southeast Asian forest unique.