Illegal hunting for bushmeat is regarded as an important cause of biodiversity decline in Africa. We use a
stated preferences method to obtain information on determinants of demand for bushmeat and two
other protein sources, fish and chicken, in villages around the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. Our
study focuses particularly on the impact of price changes, as anticipating and understanding the impact
of price changes (whether caused by conservation interventions or market changes) on demand for
bushmeat enables effective responses to be planned. We estimate the effects of changes in the price of
bushmeat and in the prices of two substitute protein sources – fish and chicken – on household demand
for bushmeat. Results suggest that the availability of lower-priced protein substitutes would reduce
demand for bushmeat, and therefore potentially pressure on wildlife populations. However, raising the
price of bushmeat (e.g. as a result of reducing illegal hunting) would reduce household demand to a
greater degree than equivalent decreases in the price of alternative protein sources. In both cases,
elasticities are reported which summarise the relative response to households to these alternative
interventions: a 10% rise in bushmeat prices would reduce demand by around 6-7%, whilst a 10% fall in
chicken or fish prices would reduce bushmeat demand by around 3-4%. The response to price changes
varied between ethnic groups, and also according to household size (with the direction of the effect
depending on whether the substitute was chicken or fish), but was not significantly affected by wealth
or income. (248 words)