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We calculated extraction and production rates of bushmeat species in two main tropical, moist‐forest regions, the Amazon and Congo basins. Extraction was estimated from the average number of animals consumed per person per year from anthropological studies that reported animal kills brought into settlements in the regions. We calculated extraction rates ( kg / km ²/year) for 57 and 31 mammalian taxa in the Congo and Amazon, respectively. We then examined the sustainability of these extraction rates by basin and by taxa, using extraction‐to‐production (   E:P) mass‐balance equations. Production (tonnes/year) was calculated as the product of r_max (the intrinsic rate of natural increase), mammal biomass, and total area of forest in each region. Species exploitation rates at specific body masses were significantly greater in the Congo than in the Amazon. The E :P ratio for the Congo was 2.4, 30 times …