Two forms of natural resource use (meat hunting and livestock grazing) were investigated at three sites in the western region of the Serengeti ecosystem, Tanzania. Statutory management of natural resources in this region was designated as National Park, Game Reserve or village council. A quasi-experimental design examined factors likely to alter the cost and benefit of illegal use by ranking areas within sites in relation to these factors. Factors likely to alter costs were the chance of arrest, determined by the presence or absence of guard posts, and the distance travelled to the site of exploitation. As all sites experienced large fluctuations in the density of migratory herbivores, it was assumed that the benefit acquired from hunting increased with wild herbivore density. Marked seasonal changes in precipitation were considered likely to alter the value of forage and water to livestock owners. Hunting effort (density of snares) increased as the density of wild herbivores increased. The distribution of hunting effort across sites was more consistent with the prediction that high travel costs were more likely to curtail hunting than a high potential cost of arrest. Unlike hunters, livestock owners mostly avoided the use of resources in protected areas probably because of the high potential cost of arrest and confiscation of stock. Natural resources within protected areas were exploited when benefits outweighed likely costs.

Illegal hunting of resident and migratory herbivores is widespread in the Serengeti National Park, Tanzania. To devise effective strategies to reduce levels of hunting, information is required on why people are involved in illegal hunting and the role of bushmeat in the local economy. Participation in hunting may be influenced by measures of relative wealth, including livestock ownership, means of generating cash income and access to alternative sources of meat. Data came from 300 individuals responding to a questionnaire in 10 villages, from responses by 359 people in 24 group discussions in another 12 villages, and from 552 people arrested and interviewed in the National Park. A smaller proportion of individual respondents (32%) than group respondents (57%) volunteered that they participated in illegal hunting. Most individual and group respondents were subsistence farmers who considered bushmeat to be a source of protein and a means of generating cash income. Three-quarters of those arrested participated in hunting primarily to generate cash income and a quarter claimed that they only hunted to obtain food. Participation in illegal hunting decreased as wealth in terms of the number of sheep and goats owned increased. People with access to alternative means of generating income or acquiring protein were also less likely to be involved in illegal hunting. Arrested respondents were typically young adult males with low incomes and few or no livestock. Illegal hunting was not reduced by participation in community-based conservation pro-grammes. Results suggested that between 52 000 and 60 000 people participated in illegal hunting within protected areas, and that many young men (approximately 5200) derived their primary source of income from hunting.