Higher game prices, opportunities for local hunters

South African wildlife ranchers are optimistic that 2022 will be a good year for them, according to Richard York, CEO of Wildlife Ranching South Africa.

York said that low investor confidence, relentless drought, devastating veld fires, and the COVID-19 pandemic during the past few years have had a severe impact on the hunting and wildlife industry. Many ranchers had exited the industry, while others had changed to other agricultural land uses. Some had taken measures to maintain productivity in order to survive.

“The pandemic has forced many ranchers to adapt and focus on the various opportunities in the wildlife ranching industry, and this has brought about more stability. The industry now has a consistent base price for wildlife, with a stable R/kg offering for game meat, despite several legislative challenges,” York said.

According to him, live wildlife sales were no longer fluctuating as drastically as they had been in the recent past, and the industry had witnessed a steady increase in wildlife prices in 2021. This trend was anticipated to continue in 2022.

Compared with 2019’s sale figures, common species such as kudu, gemsbok, red hartebeest, blesbok and impala had all effectively doubled in price towards the end of 2021. Even the common blue wildebeest’s price had increased 70%, and bulls were selling for a minimum price of R6 500 each on auction.

These increased prices had also had a knock-on effect on rare species such as sable, roan antelope and various colour variants, which had also started to show a steady increase in value.

Nonetheless, the wildlife industry did not act in isolation, and a host of macro factors would continue to affect it in 2022. The escalating cost of living, spiking fuel prices, erratic travel restrictions, and the delayed economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic would continue to play their roles in 2022.

“Nevertheless, as with other trends in the cycle of life, everything that goes up, goes down and goes up again,” York said.

According to Stan Burger, a professional hunter from Koster, many professional hunters had had high expectations for 2022, but their hopes had been crushed by the recent discovery of the Omicron variant of the COVID-19 virus.

“[Until then], travel to the US was possible for vaccinated people, and operators would have been able to attend shows [in that country] for marketing purposes,” he said. Burger added that there would consequently be a surplus of high-quality game animals on the market for the South African hunting fraternity in 2022. Local hunters thus needed to take the opportunity to hunt with a professional hunter and obtain record animals at reasonable prices.

COMMON GAME SPECIES DOUBLED IN PRICE TOWARDS THE END OF 2021