Wildlife farming refers to the raising of traditionally undomesticated animals in an agricultural setting to produce: living animals for canned hunting and to be kept as pets; commodities such as food and traditional medicine; and materials like leather, fur and fiber.^[1][2][3]

Some conservationists argue, wildlife farming can protect endangered species from extinction by reducing the pressure on populations of wild animals which are often poached for food.^[4] Others claim that it may be harmful for the majority of conservation efforts, except for a select few species.^[3]

Certain African communities rely on bushmeat to obtain their daily amount of animal protein necessary to be healthy and survive.^[5] Oftentimes, bushmeat is not handled with care causing the spread of diseases. Wildlife farming can reduce the spread of diseases by providing African communities with bushmeat that is properly processed.^[4]

In his documentary film The End of Eden, South African filmmaker Rick Lomba, presented examples of the environmentally sustainable and indeed rejuvenating effect of certain types of wildlife farming.^[6]

Wildlife farming has been linked to the emergence of zoonotic diseases, such as the SARs outbreak which has since been connected with the farming of civets.^[7]

In recent years, South Africa has seen a massive growth in wildlife ranching (also known as game farming), which has led to a range of issues due to a lack of regulations.^[8] This has led to the reclassification of 33 wild species as farm animals.^[9]

As a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, approximately 20,000 wildlife farms have been shut-down in China. In the preceding years, the Chinese government had been promoting and incentivizing the development of the wildlife farming industry, which was valued as 520bn yuan, or £57bn, in 2017.^[10]

• Livestock