Meat from Caiman yacare is traditionally consumed in local markets
in Brazil and, for many years, yacare were obtained for their
skin and meat mostly by illegal hunting (Mares & Ojeda, 1984).
Since 1990, Brazilian legislation allows that yacare be raised in specialized
farms (Brazil, 1990), and this strategy has created alternative
ways of obtaining its products, with the end result that yacare
kept in the wilderness are now under lower pressure by illegal
poachers. Yacaremeat is usually consumed in nature, but its incorporation
into different types of processed products could open new
market opportunities and add value to the species.