When the white-tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus) feels threatened by a predator, it raises its tail as a warning sign. It either freezes in place or decides to flee: it can run at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour. It is a natural instinct, developed over thousands of years to ensure its survival.
In Guanacaste, this animal has learned to flee from other, more dangerous predators—ones who don’t play by nature’s rules: poachers.
Historically, in the province, ranchers in the savannas harvested venison for domestic consumption. However, today that type of hunting accounts for less than 10 percent, explains Raúl Acevedo Peralta, an official with the Guanacaste Conservation Area (ACG) who has been with the agency for 27 years.
The real problem now is hunters who sell the meat on the black market—usually locally—and those who engage in sport hunting, a more sophisticated practice involving tactical gear and professional-grade firearms.
In Costa Rica, illegal hunting has been punishable under the 1983 Wildlife Conservation Law, but with few provisions and mild penalties. It wasn’t until the 1992 Wildlife Conservation Law that more severe penalties were imposed, including prison terms of up to six months. Subsistence hunting remains permitted.
The ACG covers more than 163,000 hectares spread across 18 sectors, including the Guanacaste, Santa Rosa, and Rincón de la Vieja National Parks, as well as conservation areas such as the Horizontes Experimental Forest Station and the Bahía Junquillal Wildlife Refuge.
Between 2024 and so far in 2026, the National System of Conservation Areas (Sinac) has filed 50 complaints for the crime of illegal hunting within the ACG and has also seized 32 firearms.
The white-tailed deer is a national symbol of Costa Rican wildlife, designated as such since 1995, and classified as an endangered species due to hunting. Photo: Melisa Espinoza/ACG.
How illegal white-tailed deer meat traffickers operate
With nearly three decades of combined experience, Acevedo Peralta explains that they have learned to identify certain patterns of illegal activity and to gain a deep understanding of the problem.
It’s not just the hunting itself, but also how it is carried out. Traditionally, he explains, the savanna dwellers hunted the largest deer. One animal was enough to feed a family for a long time, by combining that meat with other foods. They did not target the young ones or pregnant females.
In poaching, there are no rules of honor or environmental considerations; every possible animal is hunted.
For example, in April 2025, near Finca Guapote, close to Santa Rosa National Park, a man was apprehended with a shotgun and 16 pieces of wild game meat from white-tailed deer, as well as a peacock, which is an endangered species. During the same operation, two other hunters fled, leaving behind a bag containing 28 additional pieces of venison. In total, authorities seized 44 pieces of venison and deer tails. Three deer were slaughtered that same night.
There are people who do this exclusively—that is, they don’t even have a job; they make a living off of it. They don’t care if it’s a female, male, or juvenile; it’s purely for that clandestine trade or black market we have,” he said in the interview.
The black market he refers to is where that meat is sold and poachers receive their payment.
There is no established location, nor is it sold publicly on social media groups. The poachers already know who to sell it to, or sometimes they hunt on commission, the official says.
It is also distributed in bars and taverns as ready-to-eat food, he adds.
Those engaged in hunting are usually residents of communities bordering protected areas. They operate in small groups (at least two or three people) to facilitate quick entry into and exit from the forest, and the most common weapon is a shotgun.
Acevedo Peralta knows this from experience, but also because every piece of data is recorded in SINAC’s logs. This has made it possible to confirm that most offenders are repeat offenders.
Local hunters also use other rudimentary tools, such as axes, flashlights to blind their prey, and corn cobs used as bait, according to ACG records.
Hunters who sell meat usually carry shotguns, knives, and flashlights to blind their prey. Photo: Sinac
The “sport” of the wealthy
At the opposite extreme from “artisanal” hunters are “sport” or “organized” hunters, the official explains. These are the worst, he emphasizes, because they are motivated solely by the adrenaline rush of killing. They are not residents of communities surrounding national parks, but rather people who organize themselves and travel from different parts of the country.
“This is on another level… Those people aren’t interested in the meat; it’s the sport, the adrenaline rush of roaming the wilderness in pursuit of prey. Breaking in and warming up their modern, high-caliber weapons—30-30s, Mini-14s—with telescopic sights,” he explains.
Sport hunting—which is also illegal—relies on more sophisticated equipment for killing prey and for communication among hunters. Photo: BCAF- ACG.
Acevedo describes a profile of hunters with a high socioeconomic status—some of them professionals—who travel on weekends in new, expensive vehicles, equipped with uniforms, two-way radios, and lookouts, commonly known as “campanas.” These are men stationed at the entrances to towns to warn of the presence of authorities.
On July 26, officials from the ACG and the Arenal Tempisque Conservation Area (ACAT) intercepted an organized hunting group in San Cayetano de El Salto de Bagaces. Early that morning, six people were arrested. Two were residents of Liberia, one from Tilarán, another from Puntarenas, and one from Monteverde.
The seized arsenal and equipment surprised even ACG staff, who are accustomed to such activities: six large-caliber firearms, telescopic sights, a large quantity of ammunition, communication radios, bladed weapons, dogs trained to track deer, and the head of a slaughtered white-tailed deer.
The original group consisted of 10 to 12 people and used six high-end vehicles, but half of them managed to escape.
Park Rangers at a Disadvantage
“We’re always at a disadvantage,” laments Raúl Acevedo Peralta when asked about the safety implications of poaching for park rangers.
During the operation in Bagaces, there were only six park rangers facing more than a dozen hunters armed with modern rifles.
“There are fewer and fewer staff members in conservation areas. Jobs are being cut instead of being replaced and expanded… in fact, we’re moving backward,” he said, complaining about the government’s budget cuts to SINAC, which has frozen the replacement of job positions.
In 2020, SINAC had an operating budget of ¢47,226 million. By 2026, that budget had fallen to ¢32,525 million.
He notes that a few years ago, no park rangers wore bulletproof vests. Today they do, but there aren’t enough.
An effort was made at the time, and a donation was received, but it wasn’t enough for everyone. Some have them; others don’t. They replaced our weapons years ago, but now who knows how long that will last,” the official laments.
This operational disparity explains why ACG staff rely on support from external police forces for nearly every reported arrest.
Unpunished Crimes
Impunity for crimes is another key factor, allowing those who engage in illegal hunting—whether for sport or commercial purposes—to do so repeatedly.
“The environmental issue regarding crimes is very difficult. It’s very rare for them to go to prison; the penalties are very low.” He even says there is a lack of awareness among judges regarding crimes against nature.
According to the official, wealthy hunters who are apprehended “are released the day after the preliminary hearing,” and criminal cases are typically resolved with fines that are “insignificant” for hunters with high purchasing power.
A Controversial but Viable Solution
The ongoing loss of medium- and large-sized wildlife in Guanacaste, such as the white-tailed deer, not only undermines biodiversity but also directly jeopardizes the regeneration of the tropical dry forest—an ecosystem that has taken decades to recover from the deforestation caused by cattle ranching in the last century, the official explains.
The white-tailed deer plays an important role as a seed disperser for trees in the dry forest. It’s also important to remember that they are prey for large felines such as the puma and the jaguar, which disrupts food chains.”
Faced with this landscape of impunity and operational asymmetry, Raúl Acevedo Peralta proposes a solution that is being discussed among environmentalist circles, though he himself knows it is controversial for many people: relaxing the regulations of the Wildlife Conservation Law to allow for the establishment of legal wildlife breeding facilities for commercial purposes.
Illegal meat consumption threatens the biodiversity of the Guanacaste Conservation Area. Photo: BCAF- ACG.
“If there’s a way to legally acquire the meat from places where the animals are being bred, then that black market will collapse, and hunters will likely no longer have a place to sell their catch—and we’ll also reduce that pressure,” he believes.
Acevedo maintains that the cultural tradition of consuming wild game in Guanacaste is undeniable, and that if a legal supply is made available, consumers will opt for the regulated channel.
For some, speaking in these terms is contradictory… they think we’re promoting the breeding of wild animals for food, but they’re hunting them anyway today and causing greater damage to the ecosystem through that uncontrolled hunting,” he concludes.
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