Scarcity of game putting squeeze on wildlife prices

South African game prices were expected to increase by at least 10% in 2024. Franco Joubert, owner of Northwest Wildlife Traders, ascribed the increase to the scarcity of game after a considerable number of breeders left the game breeding industry because of economic pressure in favour of livestock production.

“The breeding of species such as buffaloes is a long-term investment of about four years.

“The poor economic conditions in the country made it impossible for some breeders to wait that long for a return on their investment.

“More and more breeders were also exiting the breeding of colourvariant game and that pushed up prices markedly,” said Joubert.

In 2023, the price for white springbok rams, for instance, went up from R7 500 in 2022 to a minimum of R10 000 because of the growing demand from the international hunting fraternity.

The King wildebeest variants went up from R50 000 in 2022 to R100 000 in 2023 while white-flanked impala rams surged from R20 000 to R50 000 over the same period. A dappled impala ram cost more than R100 000 in 2023.

SUBSTANTIAL INCREASE

“Plains game prices also showed a substantial increase, with 1,14m kudu bulls going for at least R20 000 and 1,27m bulls going for R50 000,” said Joubert. The local hunting price for warthogs shot up to R1 000 while impala ewes cost between R1 800 and R2 000 during the past year. The auction price for impala ewes went up to R2 400.

Colin Engelbrecht, chairperson of the Wildlife Ranching Association of South Africa, attributed the decline in plains game species to adverse climatic conditions such as the drought in the Eastern Cape and the cold front that hit the country in November. He added that the industry still felt the impact of the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent worldwide ban on travel.

“Despite the high prices for plains game, the price for tsessebe, roan and buffalo showed a downward trend. This can be attributed to local legislation that limits the trade in these species as well as their trophies. The official restrictions on the movement of buffalo also added to lower prices,” he said.