It’s hard to think of an animal protein more essentially local than bush meat.

Once solely hunted for subsistence and consumed within the community, the porcupines, monkeys, and duikers of the Congo Basin now travel to dinner plates hundreds of miles away.

Driving the trend are population growth, the lack of protein alternatives, more efficient hunting, and better access to remote areas, according to a new study mapping Congo Basin hunting pressures.

But taste also plays a role.