Disentangling the global drivers of species use and use-driven extinction risk

Oscar Morton, Sharon Baruch-Mordo, Christopher Cooney, David Edwards

The use and trade of wild species is a cornerstone of subsistence livelihoods and global economies. Understanding which drivers of use threaten species is critical in distinguishing between beneficial sustainable exploitation and harmful overexploitation, and ensuring that conservation efforts are targeted where they are most urgently needed. We provide the first nuanced global assessment of exactly how 16,967 bird and mammal species are utilised by integrating 11 global datasets spanning trade and seizure records, case studies, expert assessments, and over 16,000 species-specific encyclopaedia entries. We find that 58% (6,358) of birds and 41% (2,439) of mammals are used by humans, primarily as pets, food, sport, ornamental products, apparel, and medicine. Avian use is best predicted by taxonomy and range size, while mammalian use is driven by body mass and demography. Using a novel, automated text-classification pipeline, we analyse expert-led conservation assessments to identify use-specific extinction risk. Specific uses are a known threat for just 3.1% (518) of extant species, with use as pets and food the primary extinction threat for birds and mammals, respectively. These results highlight that although wildlife use is nearly ubiquitous, the pool of species most impacted is relatively small. Because the intensity and nature of use-related threats evolves rapidly over time, our automated pipeline provides the essential mechanism to track this and maintain up-to-date conservation priorities. Integrating targeted understanding of how species are used – and when this poses a threat – is critical to meeting global aspirations for the safe and sustainable use of wild species.