A. Species
Scientific name: Hydrochoerus hydrochaeris
Common name(s): Capybara
Global IUCN Red List Threat Status: Least Concern
B. Location of use
Geographic location(s):
- Amazonas
Country/Region: Brazil / lower Amazon floodplain
C. Scale of assessment
Scale of assessment: Sub-national / Sub-region / Sub-State
Name/Details of location: Alenquer, Curuá, Óbidos, Prainha and Santarém, in the state of Pará
D. Timescale of use
Start Year: 2008
End Year: 2011
E. Information about the use
How is the wild species sourced?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Type of use: Extractive
Practice of use: Hunting and/or Trapping of live terrestrial and aerial animals
Lethal or non-lethal: Lethal
Does this use involve take/extraction of: The whole entire organism
Purpose(s) of end use: Food and feed and Food for trade (which more liable to policing enforcement)
Motivation of use: Basic subsistence, Income generation from trade (individual/household/community) and Traditional/Cultural/Spiritual
Is this use legal or illegal?: Some use is legal and some is illegal
F. Information about the Users
Which stakeholder(s) does the record primarily focus on?: Local people
G. Information about the sustainability of use
Is there evidence that the use is having an impact on the target species?: Wild species sourced from its natural habitat
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an ecological perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: Capybara were hunted consistently, with consistent hunting effort, by 21 hunters from 36 communities (sustainability of other species in the study varies with taxa; for instance white-lipped peccary, manatee, big-headed Amazon river turtle and black curassow are in decline).
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Consistent hunting bag returns.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an economic perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: Capybara tetched a market traded (illegal) price of US$ 1.78±0.36.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a social perspective been recorded?: Yes, considered sustainable
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Brief summary on why the use has been assessed/judged to be sustainable or unsustainable: This exploitation of Amazonian forest wildlife by local (although non-indigenous) people is central to their way of life and their food security, with traded species fetching good market prices.
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from a human health perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Has an assessment (or judgement) of sustainability of the use of the target species from an animal health/welfare perspective been recorded?: No, sustainability not determined
Details of assessment carried out: This study
Recommendations provided in the record to maintain or enhance the sustainability of the use of the target species
The study concludes that: "Wildlife trade takes place informally in all communities and is neglected by legislative and environmental protection bodies. Trade of wild meat is prohibited by law in Brazil (Law No. 5.197/1967), while consumption of wildlife for subsistence, although tolerated, is only vaguely defined in the current legal framework. There is a need to revise and redefine subsistence hunting in legal frameworks, taking into account the reality of communities of the modern Amazon. Hunting, trade and socio-ecological systems are dynamic, and may be influenced by a myriad of factors, such as changes in economy, legislation and environment. This is particularly true for flooded environments., where climate change has been causing great impacts on the abundance of hunted wildlife in floodplains of the Peruvian Amazon. As trade in wild animals is prohibited in Brazil and these species are threatened with extinction, strategies to better manage hunted species in these study areas are needed. This demonstrates the importance of developing tailored sustainable use of resources through co-management initiatives, aiming at the conservation of game species and the continuity of this important activity for local populations of Amazonian floodplains."
Record source
Information about the record source: scientific_pub
Date of publication/issue/production: 2022-01-01T00:00:00+0000
Source Reference(s):
https://doi.org/10.15451/ec2022-07-11.16-1-19
Date of record entry: 2022-11-17