Drought, hunting backlash send wildlife prices down

WILDLIFE prices are tumbling in South Africa, as game breeders are squeezed by restrictions imposed on trophy hunting following the killing of Cecil the lion in 2015, and the worst drought on record forced farmers to sell animals.

The average price of a buffalo bull fell 71 percent to R95 704 in 2016. It is now a fraction of the record R2.1 million set in 2013, according to Vleissentraal, an auction house. Prices of golden wildebeest, black impala and kudu bulls dropped 60 to 80 percent.

“There has been an onslaught on the trophy hunting industry and that has fed through to prices,” said Peet van der Merwe, a professor of wildlife and tourism at North West University. “The drought has also hurt farmers, many of whom had to sell stock.”

The collapse marks the end of four years of skyrocketing values for South African wildlife, which are often specially bred for bigger horns or coloured coats.

The boom in prices from 2011 to 2014 was driven by growth in trophy hunting and investment from high-networth individuals, including luxury-goods billionaire Johann Rupert and Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa.

The collapse marks the end of four years of skyrocketing values for South African wildlife.

That all changed in 2015. The country experienced its worst drought since records began in 1904, making feed more expensive, while US dentist Walter Palmer provoked worldwide outrage by illegally killing Cecil, a 13-year-old lion in Zimbabwe known for his striking black mane.

After the death of Cecil, who was part of an Oxford University research project, the US, France, the Netherlands and Australia tightened restrictions on importing animal carcasses, while United Airlines and Delta Air Lines banned customers from transporting hunting trophies.

Prices of specially-bred colour variants also fell last year. The average golden wildebeest bull sold for R395 363, a drop of 61 percent from 2015, according to Vleissentraal. Black impala rams plunged 78 percent, and even lower-value so-called plains game such as kudu tumbled 64 percent.

Expanded supply Prices are also being affected by expanded supply of farmed wildlife. Seeing the high prices, cattle farmers converted to game from 2012 to 2014, temporarily pushing up demand before some were forced to sell during the drought, according to Van der Merwe.

Still, the value of the costliest buffalo increased last year. South African businessman Peter Bellingham paid R44m for a 25 percent share in Horizon, Africa’s biggest-horned, tuberculosis-free buffalo last February. That values Horizon at a record R176m, surpassing the R40m paid for a buffalo named Mystery by a group including Rupert in 2013.