A scoping review on what motivates individuals to illegally harvest wildlife

Figures & data

Figure 1. PRISMA flowchart searching and screening of studies.

Figure 2. Global overview displaying the number of studies per country as used in this dataset.

Figure 3. Bubble chart showing the count of studies (top) divided by continent, taxa and documented motivation, and the relative abundance of motivations (bottom) divided by continent and taxa.

Table 1. Overview of documented motivations, descriptions, frequency of papers documenting that motivation and characteristic quotes for the specific motivations.

Observed motivation	Description	Frequency	Characteristic quotes
Commercial Gain	Illegal harvest of wildlife for commercial gain involves the illegal harvest or sale of wildlife for the purposes of gaining economic benefits.	62	“The money I make hunting is used to support my family. Whatever it takes to support them I do it, which includes being an outlaw”. “People make a profit out of selling birds. This is a family town and the money is saved to have the kids educated, to improve their lives”
Household Consumption	Illegal harvesting of wildlife for consumption within the household.	53	“if they do call me a poacher, they better hope their shoes are tied tight! It didn’t bother me ‘cause I was only supporting my family” “Hungry kids and no welfare makes a man do what he can for his family”. “I hunt whenever I get a chance so I can eat.”
Protection of self and property	Illegal harvesting of wildlife motivated by protection of self or property as the violator believes that they represent a threat to his or her property, livelihood, or game species that he or she fishes for or hunts	32	“Lions are dangerous animals causing the death of both humans and livestock, thus when encountered in our areas people kill them” “‘it was either the business or the badger” “They (farmers) kill them (condors) because they at times kill their cattle.”
Traditional right	Illegal harvesting of wildlife motivated by a sense that traditional rights of access, or participation in a traditional activity, have been unjustly prohibited.	28	‘“Both my father and grandfather hunted like that. Any species coming within scope of my gun and it’s good to eat, that is an endangered species”., “It is our birthright as inherited from our forefathers that we should hunt wild games for meat, and use it in such a way we want. In the old days, we used to hunt for the whole village.”
Disagreement with specific regulations	Illegal harvest of wildlife because they object to the content of specific regulations governing the harvest of, or access to, wildlife resources.	21	“We no longer get along with the park. Their animals eat our maize, but when it’s us killing their animals, we are guilty.”
Recreational	Illegal harvesting of wildlife for the purpose of experiencing the satisfactions associated with hunting and fishing as a legitimate recreational activity.	21	“[People continue to hunt because it] is their hobby. Going into the forest to hunt is fun and sometimes you get to enjoy wild meat”. “Today, hunting is a hobby, it’s a pleasure and some are not content with hunting only during the autumn.”
Status or Identity	Illegal harvesting of wildlife motivated by a harvester’s status or identity.	20	‘I feel ashamed to tell them I don’t have meat to give them’ ‘I tell my husband “what kind of a man are you? Other men are out there poaching”
Gamesmanship	Illegal harvesting of wildlife fueled by the game like interactions with law enforcement personnel, trying to outsmart the other.	13	“[T]his old man had been poaching alligators for years. He called up one day and told us he wanted to go out big time … he was going to blast some alligators in a Federal wildlife refuge. [But he did not tell the exact location within the refuge.] He also gave us the day. I happened to be at the right spot at the right time. [A pond where many alligators were known to be located.] I saw him hit the button and I watched about 35 alligators go flying up in the air … he killed none but injured ten of them”.
Rebellion	Illegal harvesting of wildlife as a way of acting out a more generalized notion of protest	10	“I outlaw because no one will tell me what to hunt when and where to hunt”. “there was also a special form of local protest in the marsh: hundreds went hunting in July and August, out of hunting season. It is important to stress that this was a real political act of protest and not simply poaching.”
Accidental	Illegal harvest of wildlife claimed to be accidental or due to mistakes/errors with no intent of illegally harvesting wildlife.	9	“I had forgotten to tag deer, thus a citation … No intent to do anything illegal”.. “My husband told me he got me a doe license—it was a buck license.”
Failed Governance	Illegal harvest of wildlife motivated by failure of governance.	5	“They [people in the communities] have been bribed, they have phone numbers and they can communicate with them [Indonesian buyers]… officers are also been bribed… Fisheries [authorities] on this island know about it and they cannot do anything.”
Other	This category contained miscellaneous motivations reported which either did not fit in above categories or did not state the exact motivation of harvesting.	5	“When the ban was declared, I simply went on doing what I knew“ “A commonly mentioned but lowly ranked motivation for entering the Park was being driven into the forest by evil spirits”
Trophy killing	Illegal harvesting of wildlife for the desire to acquire a trophy.	3	“Because it was a big buck sitting by the road” and “[To get a] big buck.”
Thrill killing	Illegal harvesting of wildlife for the psychological or emotional thrill of killing a living animal.	2	“[I]t gets to be exciting sometimes when the wardens chase you”. “[I]t’s more fun to outlaw than to hunt legal … it tastes better too”. “I hunt whatever is illegal … is good to eat and for the challenge of getting caught.”

Figure 4. Documented motivations divided by dietary type of the reported taxa and plants.