Wildlife consumption is widespread across Equatorial Guinea and hunted species are more threatened now than 35 years ago

Assessing temporal and spatial changes is essential to understand the real impact of wildlife hunting for human consumption and trade across tropical regions. We found 56 species of wild-trapped vertebrates offered for sale in Equatorial Guinea in 2025, by surveying urban markets and rural areas, and recorded their use, prices, and conservation status. Most of the animals (94.2%) were offered for meat consumption, while animals offered for medicine/rituals or for the pet trade reached 4.4% and 1.4% of the individuals recorded, respectively. The taxonomic composition of wild meat differed between the two main urban markets, in Malabo and Bata cities, and between these markets and their surrounding rural areas. Worryingly, the supply of globally endangered pangolins was four times greater in the source rural areas than in the Bata market. Prices were higher in urban markets than in rural areas, and higher for globally threatened species regardless of their market availability. We also compared taxonomic composition of wild meat with that collected 35 years earlier from the same two urban markets. The range of hunted species was similar, but their conservation status has worsened according to the IUCN Red List. While only two of the species recorded in 2025 were globally threatened in 1990, wildlife hunting is now involving at least 15 globally threatened and 8 near threatened species, representing 27% and 14% respectively of all the species recorded and 17% and 4% respectively of all individuals trapped. While hunting these threatened species is prohibited by law, they are sold at higher prices and with impunity due to the lack of effective law enforcement. Targeted educational campaigns to reduce demand, by changing consumer attitudes towards wild meat, together with cultural-, and development-based strategies tailored to specific taxa and user groups are urgently needed to halt the unsustainable hunting of threatened species in Equatorial Guinea. • Long-term monitoring is essential to assess the real impact of wildlife hunting across tropical regions • We surveyed wildlife offered for sale in Equatorial Guinea in 2025, and compared it with data collected 35 years ago. • We found significant changes in the proportion of species offered for meat consumption. • Hunting is now involving at least 15 globally threatened and 8 near threatened species.