# Hunting, wildlife trade, fishing and conflict cause direct mortality

**Parent:** https://communityfix.org/issue/341

**Issue #344** · by Arnaud Gissinger · 2026-08-07

Threatened animals are killed or removed through hunting, trade, targeted fishing, bycatch and conflict responses faster than their populations can reproduce.

**Tags:** `biodiversity`, `human-wildlife-conflict`, `direct-wildlife-exploitation`

**SDGs:** Life Below Water, Life on Land

**Votes:** 0 · **Solutions:** 3 · **Sub-issues:** 0

Direct exploitation is a major global driver of biodiversity loss, according to the [IPBES Global Assessment](https://ipbes.net/global-assessment). Threatened animals may be targeted for food, medicine, pets, trophies or commercial fisheries, or killed incidentally through bycatch and indiscriminate gear.

Retaliatory killing and lethal control can also remove animals where wildlife damages crops, livestock, fishing income or human safety. Species with slow reproduction, restricted ranges or small populations can decline even when annual mortality appears numerically low.

This issue covers direct human-caused removal or killing. Habitat damage, pollution and introduced predators are outside its primary scope.


## Solutions

- [Develop livelihood and conflict-mitigation alternatives with communities](https://communityfix.org/issue/355.md) — Co-design practical livelihood, prevention and compensation measures with affected communities so coexistence does not impose unacceptable local costs or lead to killing threatened animals.
- [Replace harmful fishing gear and protect critical no-take areas](https://communityfix.org/issue/354.md) — Adopt species-safe fishing gear and enforce targeted no-take areas where threatened animals feed, breed or migrate to reduce capture and bycatch mortality.
- [Combine community patrols, enforcement and trade disruption](https://communityfix.org/issue/353.md) — Coordinate community patrols, targeted enforcement, and trade-chain investigations to reduce illegal killing and trafficking of threatened animals.

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Canonical: https://communityfix.org/issue/344