A new report compiled by the US Democrats Natural Resources Committee
outlines how hunting is hurting wildlife populations more than helping
save them – as is often cited as the reason to allow the practice.
In its report, titled “Missing the Mark”, the NRC notes that money
paid to nations like South Africa, Namibia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe to
hunt wildlife does little to aid conservation, thanks to poor levels
of management in wildlife programmes.
The report said that despite the justification of aiding conservation,
populations of the animals most sought after (specifically the ‘big
five’) have seen massive decline, with certain species (such as the
Northern Black rhino) on the brink of extinction.
“On paper, all four countries examined in this report have equally
strong frameworks for ensuring that trophy hunts benefit species
conservation. Unfortunately, the implementation of these frameworks
has in many cases been marred by corruption and has not produced the
advertised and desired results,” the NSC said.
“Even in countries with better execution of wildlife conservation
plans, significant questions remain about whether or not trophy
hunting is sustainable.”
The NSC noted that keeping track of wildlife data is difficult, as
many of the countries base their figures on old data, or are
completely unreliable in their reporting.
Declining wildlife populations
African Elephant – 420,000 – 650,000
White Rhino – fewer than 16,000
Black Rhino – fewer than 5,000
Leopard – undetermined, but fewer than 4,000 (South Africa), 14,000 (Namibia)
African Lion – fewer than 20,000
The report also outlined the average cost of hunting the “big five” –
one of the biggest hunting draws on the continent – which ranges
between R2.8 million and R4.4 million-plus to get the whole ‘set’.
Lion – $8,500-$50,000
Elephant – $25,000-$60,000
White Rhino – $125,000+
Leopard – $15,000-$35,000
Buffalo – $12,500-$17,000
Average cost – $186,000 – $287,000+
Looking specifically at South Africa, the NSC pointed out that the
country is one of the more effective when it comes to hunting and
conservation, but raised the issue of rhino poaching which South
Africa has failed to stop.
According to the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT), South Africa has
lost more than R1.3 billion to rhino poaching since 2008.
“Wildlife management in South Africa is generally better funded than
in many other places on the continent, but the country’s wildlife
population has been hit hard by poaching in recent years, particularly
with respect to its white rhino population,” the group said.
“While trophy hunting industry proponents assert that the presence of
hunting operations deters poaching, there is no evidence of such an
effect. Rhino poaching has soared during the last decade even as the
South African government has encouraged trophy hunting.”
The report also noted that South Africa has recently come under
increasing fire for allowing the practice of canned hunting – and has
also fallen victim in recent years to a phenomenon known as
“pseudo-hunting,” whereby individuals associated with wildlife
trafficking rings participate in legally permitted hunts for white
rhino with the intention of selling the trophy for profit.
Game hunting in South Africa
A poll run by BusinessTech in 2015 found that 63% of South Africans
would be in favour of hunting being banned in South Africa.
However, imposing such ban would have far-reaching, detrimental
consequences for one of the country’s biggest industries.
Game hunting is a multi-billion rand industry in South Africa,
bringing in over R6.6 billion in various sectors tied directly to the
industry (such as the purchasing of permits, meat processing,
taxidermy etc), while also boosting other industries such as tourism.
According to the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa
(PHASA), game hunting keeps hundreds of businesses going, employing
thousands, while also funding conservation projects in the country.