Arunachal Pradesh is one of the most bio-diverse and forested states in India. The state is home to 26 tribal groups and 110 sub-tribes. Traditionally, hunting has been a major part of the tribal communities in Arunachal Pradesh. Hunting is conducted majorly for food, recreation, games, trophies collection and for religious beliefs in the area. In this study, we aimed to collect baseline data on hunting rates and the reasons for hunting through primary surveys conducted in 4 major villages of West Siang district in Arunachal Pradesh. The sampling sites also coincided with the proposed locations for the construction of five future hydroelectric power projects in Arunachal Pradesh. We found a total of 34 trophies/hides in the study area with average hunting rates of 0.68 animal/household/annum and 0.97 animal/active hunter/annum. Sus scrofa cristatus (Wild Boar) was the most hunted species, followed by Naemorhedus sp. (Goral) and Ursus thibetanus (Black Bear). Among the most hunted species, 5 belonged to the ‘Vulnerable’ category of IUCN. Our findings also revealed that if the proposed Environment Management Plans (EMPs) of the 5 hydroelectric power projects were properly implemented, a total of 2000 jobs could be provided to the 2243 families in this study area. This has the potential to alleviate hunting pressures in the area. Besides, the EMPs of all the major hydroelectric power projects have provisions for community awareness and community education programmes. We propose that together with the state governments and non-governmental organizations, the hydroelectric project developers can play a very constructive role in decreasing hunting pressures and mitigating biodiversity losses in Northeast India.