Cracidae and tinamidae, and together with them many species of curassow, suffer by being the targets of illegal hunting.

So much so that the Alagoas curassow (Pauxi mitu) is extinct in nature. And the red-billed curassow (Crax blumenbachii), also endemic to the Atlantic Rainforest, is critically threatened with extinction.

Many bird species are hunted for sport or to serve as food, which is illegal in Brazil. Tinamidae, such as partridges and tinamou, are specific targets for being an alternative source of common food. In the great majority of cases it is not hunting for subsistence. Together with the first illegal incursions into the forest for timber extraction, tinamidae, Cracidae, and large frugivorous animals were the first groups to significantly decrease.