Bushmeat hunting stands as a great threat to the survival of Chimpanzees, with Bushmeat being a primary source of dietary protein in African countries. In recent years, Bushmeat hunting has become heavily commercialised. This is due to the increasing demand from the affluent who view Bushmeat as a form of delicacy and have the financial ability to pay premium prices for it. 

A study in Congo reflected how Bushmeat hunting alone has led to the extirpation of 5 to 7% of the Chimpanzee population, which surpasses the annual population increase.

The problem does not stop there. When adult Chimpanzees are killed and sold for Bushmeat, their infants are often sold off to be kept as exotic pets among the affluent. Chimpanzee infants are highly desired due to their cuddly, baby-looking features, and can be shown off as a sign of wealth and social status. However, these infants are often kept in captivity under malnourished and neglected conditions. Sharing a 98.8% genetic similarity with humans, Chimpanzees are highly social beings who are easily prone to stress and psychological damage. The cruel separation from their families, along with social deprivation, overcrowding and hunger may be psychologically traumatic to the Chimpanzees, which trigger the development of abnormal behaviour in the infants. When these infants grow up, acquire more strength and get increasingly aggressive, they are either sent away to animal shelters or left to fend for themselves. However, because growing up in captivity may have deprived them them of their ability to learn appropriate skills required to survive in the wild, the release of Chimpanzees back into the wild exposes them to heightened vulnerability from predators.

For every baby chimpanzee taken from the wild, 10 adult chimpanzees are estimated to be killed.

Furthermore, there has also been increased instances of Human-Wildlife conflicts due to the conversion of natural habitats to agricultural lands, which led to a hike in crop foraging. With the livelihood of farmers being threatened, this has worsened the negative perceptions towards Chimpanzees, which may indirectly bring about a surge in Bushmeat hunting and the resulting Pet trade.