A recent research report by the University of the North West found that hunting tourism plays a significant role in the South African economy and confirms that game farming is an important part of the agricultural sector, says Dries van Coller, policy and conservation manager of Safari Club International’s (SCI) African wing.
By Jasper Raats
According to the study, led by Prof. Peet van der Merwe and Dr. Andrea Saayman, the hunting industry has a direct and indirect economic impact of approximately $2.5 billion (approximately R44 billion) per year on the country.
Van Coller, who has now been working with Van der Merwe and Saayman for more than a decade, was previously the CEO of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA). He says this research report reaffirms what professional hunters and farmers have known for a long time, namely that game is an important, profitable and sustainable agricultural industry with a huge impact on the economy, especially in the countryside, where it supports numerous secondary industries.
Some 95 000 jobs, mainly in rural areas and for lower-skilled workers, are directly dependent on hunting tourism. This includes jobs such as trackers, butchers, farm workers and maintenance workers.
According to the study, hunting tourism has a value multiplication factor of 2.97, meaning that for every dollar spent by hunters, the economic contribution is increased by an additional $1.97. The sectors most favoured by hunting tourism include agriculture, trade, accommodation and personal services.
Conservation
The study also highlights the role that hunting tourism plays in nature conservation by encouraging landowners to restore and maintain natural habitats, thereby deriving economic benefits from them.
The private game industry in South Africa currently controls more than 20 million acres, which is more than double the area of state-owned conservation areas, such as national parks. These private areas house around 20 million game, which is three to four times as many as are found in state-controlled parks.
The researchers note that hunting tourism has recovered after the COVID-19 pandemic and that spending by both international and local hunters is now higher than it was before. International hunters spend an average of about $27 170 (approximately R478 000) per hunt, while local hunters spend an average of about $3 994 (approximately R63 300) per hunting season.
Van Coller says it was the above-average number of foreign visits during and shortly after the pandemic that highlighted the importance of hunting tourism. “South Africa had more visitors from America that year than from any other country.
There were no conferences to attend, and they could not come here to conduct business. They came to hunt.”
He says that while the new research report is considerably more complete than the report issued in 2016, he feels that the numbers are still fairly conservative. It is based on the feedback of some 1 300 local hunters and 400 international hunters.
“This is a good representative compilation of the different countries’ hunters, and while this time we took into account the entire value chain from meat sales to food and catering suppliers and services, there are hunting disciplines, such as bird hunting, for which there is very little data available to update. This is an enormous industry that is not fully represented in the current figures.”
Job creation
Nevertheless, this study highlights the importance of the hunting industry for South Africa’s economy and job creation, says Van Coller. He warns that any policy change that adversely affects this industry, such as the intention of Dr. Dion George, Minister of Forestry, Fisheries, and the Environment, to end the lion industry, could have serious repercussions for rural economies.
“North West is the province with the highest unemployment rate in South Africa.
The breeding of lions in captivity in that province creates significant employment opportunities and makes a substantial contribution to the local economies of the surrounding towns. Thousands of people will lose their jobs if Minister George pushes through his proposed ban on the breeding of lions in captivity,” he says.
He feels that the sooner a distinction is made between farmed game and wildlife preserved in parks, with one as an agricultural product and the other as a natural heritage, the better.
“This report shows how great the need for hunting game is, which confirms why it is important to produce game sustainably and ethically for this market.”
Read the full study.
