Reserve sells game meat to survive

SOUTH Africa’s luxury game lodges are empty and safari vehicles gather dust, with borders closed and airlines struggling due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

For Somkhanda, a communityowned Big Five game reserve in northern KwaZulu-Natal, selling game meat has thrown it a lifeline.

The reserve normally gives away or sells at low cost the meat from grazers such as impala and nyala that it culls each year to manage stocks, depending on the weather and available grassland.

Now, faced with a loss of up to 90% of its revenue, it’s more actively marketing the meat – often seen as a delicacy bought by restaurants and foreign tourists – to bring in between R50 000 to R100 000 a month, according to the reserve’s management.

“The tourism industry has collapsed. There’s been no one coming to visit,” said Roelie Kloppers, chief executive at Wildlands, which comanages the reserve.

“Instead of culling and just giving that meat away or selling it at a very low price locally, we tried to market it,” said Kloppers. “We would rather have the doors open.”

Before the pandemic, local and international tourists would watch animals from lions to wild dogs on guided bush walks and game drives on the 12 000ha reserve.

Rising costs from safety procedures such as sanitiser stations, temperature checks and protective equipment for staff have added to the reserve’s burden. Eight jobs have been cut.

The meat is sold online through a partnership with KZN Game Meat, at farmers’ markets and at some Pick n Pay stores.