White-lipped peccaries are particularly sensitive to forest fragmentation and hunting pressure, and frequently are the first large mammal species to disappear when humans colonize an area. For these reasons, they have become the most endangered ungulate species in Mesoamerica and are currently listed as Vulnerable on the global IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. A 2018 study conducted by leading experts in the region found that the species has been eliminated from 87% of its historical range, and is in critical condition in all 7 countries, with stable and large populations only remaining in the tri-national Maya Forest (Guatemala, México and Belize), and in El Darien in Panama.
All other populations are either significantly smaller or highly threatened and becoming isolated at an alarming pace. This group recommended that the white-lipped peccary be considered endangered in Mesoamerica and recommended that urgent action, patricularly hunting regulation and the protection and restoration of remaining habitat, is taken.