In Cameroon, Shannon completed her dissertation on a the economic and cultural motives for wild meat trading and consumption in Cameroon. Her dissertation and a follow-up study on the elephant meat trade illuminated the need to co-design both policies and locally appropriate means to sustainably manage the trade of wild animals.

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Informal markets in Central Africa form the backbone of the economy and livelihoods. Wild meat is a key product traded in these markets, bolstering nutritional and economic security across the region. Conservationists desire to close these markets to protect endangered species and to ward against future epidemics and pandemics, such as Ebola and COVID-19, fail to see the necessity to engage cultural drivers for people, including law enforcers and policy-makers.