South Africa: South Africa becoming world’s model for sustainable wildlife conservation

Issued by du Plessis Associates on behalf of Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa.
e-mail: phasa@dpapr.com Website: www.phasa.co.za facebook: PHASA



Thanks to the significant increase in game numbers and the land used to breed wildlife, South Africa is quickly becoming the recognised authority in global conservation best practice and the sustainable use of natural resources.

So said Adri Kitshoff, chief executive of the Professional Hunters Association of South Africa (PHASA), in a keynote address at the Wildlife Ranching South Africa symposium for game farmers held at Wild Expo at the Tshwane Events Centre in Pretoria West.

“Without hunting there would be no incentive for investing in game; and without hunting many species in South Africa would already be extinct or on the verge of extinction,” she said. “Today we have more international hunting tourists travelling to South Africa each year than to any other country on the continent. We have an unrivalled diversity of species: more than 45 major plains game species and all of the Big Five can be hunted here.”

Kitshoff said that there were an estimated 10 000 privately owned game ranches in South Africa, predominantly in marginal agricultural areas, covering an estimated 20.5 million hectares of land. Fifty years ago, a headcount of all the game in the country would have numbered around 500 000. “Today there are around 20 million, of which about 16 million are privately owned,” she said. “To put it into perspective: private enterprise owns three times more land and four-fifths of all the game, managed under hugely successful and effective conservation programmes, than all the state-owned parks and reserves combined. South Africa’s wildlife and conservation success story is unparalleled anywhere in the world and it’s almost entirely due to the safari hunting industry.”

“Thanks to hunting, species such as the black wildebeest, bontebok and white rhino have been brought back on the brink of extinction. Our sable and roan populations, most of which are privately owned, are growing again while species are constantly being re-introduced into areas where they have become locally extinct,” she said.

“Kenya by comparison, which imposed a blanket ban on all hunting in the Seventies, has lost almost 85% of all its game. Kenya shows us what happens when there is no incentive for farmers to invest in game.”

According to Kitshoff, South Africa’s model for sustainable wildlife conservation also had important ramifications to many of the country’s other social challenges, particularly employment creation, skills development and food security. “More than 100 000 people are employed in the wildlife industry. Additionally, around three times more people are employed on a game farm than a traditional livestock farm.”

“The PHASA Conservation and Empowerment Fund has contributed more than R9m over the past few years to the training of over 800 PDI conservationists, guides and rangers. At the same time, each of the wildlife farms is involved in its own projects and gives assistance to emerging black game farmers,” she said.

However, Kitshoff said there were many challenges facing the industry. Chief among these was the need for PHASA and government to work more closely together to address pseudo-hunting but also to facilitate the issuing of hunting permits. “While we appreciate the need for regulation in this industry, we need to foster a closer relationship with the authorities to look at ways at streamlining the checks and balances in place. An example of this is a provision in the new National Environmental Management Laws Amendment Act which allows for a certain measure of self-administration in the industry. We also desperately need to rid the industry of those rogue elements and bad apples that are bringing it into disrepute by abusing the permit system to engage in illegal and unethical hunts,” she said.

For further information contact Adri Kitshoff, PHASA CEO, on 012 667 2048 or 083 650 0442.

South Africa: Some interesting facts about the hunting industry in South Africa
2012 Statistics by Dr Herman Els

http://www.africahunting.com/l...613_member_261968084

* 10 years ago, there were less than 5 000 game farms in South Africa
* Today (2012) there are 12 000 game farms in South Africa
* 10 000 of them have exemptions for hunting
* 20 million hectares of land is in private ownership representing about 70% of land use for wildlife conservation, the other 30% is government owned national and provincial game reserves
* Government owned game reserves cannot conserve all the wildlife in South Africa effectively and rely heavily on game and hunting farmers to assist them
* The hunting industry has generated R 7.7 Billion in 2011 - .25% of SA's national GDP
* R 3.1 Billion per year was generated from around 250 000 biltong hunters in South Africa
* R 2.1 Billion per year was generated from around 15 000 trophy hunters from abroad
* The balance was generated from add-on services, food and accommodations
* Trophy hunting has a lesser impact on wildlife than biltong hunting
* Hunting is by far the largest revenue generator for game farmers
* The sale of animals represents only around 5% of the revenue generated by game farmers
* There are over 500 luxury lodges with staff on private game reserves in South Africa
* 60% of all wildlife in South Africa are owned privately outside of national and provincial parks
* Game & hunting farmers are the largest contributors towards the conservation of wildlife
* Game farms creates three times more employment than on a normal livestock farm
* Over recent years more than 70 000 jobs were created on newly established game farms
* By 2020 the industry will have created an additional 220 000 new jobs

A wonderful factual article.. Cudos to RSA and Kudus too.

Mike

quote:

Originally posted by retreever:
A wonderful factual article ...

Probably, but I've never been able to find Dr. Els' sources for his data. I even emailed him, but never received a response. I don't doubt his facts; but without proper citations, they're useless.

Contact PHASA, sure they will be able to help you to find the source of the stats.

That article ought to copied and given out to every bunny hugger or bunny hugger organization, every outdoor magazine, and re-posted on the internet in as many places as possible. I for one, am going to copy it and carry it with me in my wallet. Great article for wildlife conservation and hunting! SCI and Dallas Safari Club ought to reprint that article word for word in their publications.

Moreover, we - the hunters - need to support hunting in RSA (likewise Namibia and other game ranches across Africa and the World). I'll be hunting RSA for the second time in June 2014; and, I will be spending considerable money and getting a TON of action and trophies for that money. I'm also bringing my brother as well as my wife.

RSA is a WIN-WIN situation; a WIN for mankind and a WIN for all kinds of wildlife.

I guess a thank you from all of us(ph and outfiters) to all clients suporting hunting in RSA is in order?

Thank you

Too bad Botswana isn't learning from its neighbor to the south.

So far as I know, RSA has the BEST plains game hunting in Africa, and it will likely continue for sometime into the future. AIU

quote:

Originally posted by Ackley Improved User:
So far as I know, RSA has the BEST plains game hunting in Africa, and it will likely continue for sometime into the future. AIU

We don't do to bad with captive bred and released lion either!

But just you wait a dozen or so years, then the first of the bull calves bred from a R 40 million buffalo will have reached big horn status. The we will almost overnight become world leaders in the "ranch bred and reared" record book trophy buffalo shooting. No, not hunting, but shooting!

But the main purpose of this posting is to echo the word of thanks by Gerrit to those hunters, like AIU and many others, who so well support South Africa! That despite some serious shortcomings!