Bush meat refers to any meat that is procured from the wild. Overpopulation and continual conflicts in the DRC have led to food shortages, which have therefore increased the use of bush meat. Although data on bush meat use is not extensive, studies estimate 6 million tonnes of animals are taken for bush meat globally each year. What animals are hunted are done so indiscriminately without thought of the importance of certain species that could be ecosystem engineers or keystone species.