Hunting of wild animals in Brazil: a systematic review on biodiversity, uses and challenges for conservation

Hunting is a relevant topic within environmental sciences, and its debate has grown in other areas such as the humanities. The discussion about the factors that lead human populations to hunt permeates socioeconomic and cultural issues; these aspects influence various layers of interaction with fauna, whether for food, medicinal use, or others. Considering the threat of species decline, especially when associated with other anthropogenic actions, it is important to understand the factors that contribute to the activity and the profile of the communities that practice it. This work presents, in a descriptive manner, the results of a systematic review carried out in four databases, using the paired blind review method. The study compares "generalist" hunting and zootherapeutic hunting, highlighting the factors that influence these distinct hunting strategies, outlining the profile of hunters, the Brazilian regions with the highest incidence of the activity, and identifying the most cited species and their conservation status. The study indicates that hunters are generally low-income men with low levels of education. The studies are concentrated in the North and Northeast regions, revealing the need for studies in other regions, and that the animals listed are mostly not threatened with extinction. It was also observed that there are gaps in the methodologies applied for data collection, which may influence the way respondents answered and hinder the true interpretation of the data.