Though habitat loss is often cited as the primary threat to wildlife, commercial hunting for the meat of wild animals has become the most significant immediate threat to the future of wildlife in Africa and around the world; it has already resulted in widespread local extinctions in Asia and West Africa. This threat to wildlife is a crisis because it is rapidly expanding to countries and species which were previously not at risk, largely due to an increase in commercial logging, with an infrastructure of roads and trucks that links forests and hunters to cities and consumers. The bushmeat crisis is a human tragedy as well: the loss of wildlife threatens the livelihoods and food security of indigenous and rural populations most dependant on wildlife as a staple or supplement to their diet, and bushmeat consumption is increasingly linked to deadly diseases like HIV/AIDS, Ebola, and Foot and Mouth disease.

The Bushmeat Crisis Task Force (BCTF) facilitates the work of its members in identifying and implementing effective and appropriate solutions to the commercial exploitation of endangered and threatened species used as food. The primary BCTF Goals established are to (1) enable information sharing and create an information sharing mechanism on the bushmeat issue, (2) engage key decision makers in the United States, Europe and Africa, (3) build awareness and provide education across sectors, and (4) foster collaboration among member and partner institutions.