Ranchers May Overstate South Africa Animal Numbers

[AFRICAN INDABA]

South African privately owned wildlife farms may be using inflated numbers of animal populations in their care, according to a study by the Endangered Wildlife Trust (EWT) funded by the Development Bank of South Africa. According to EWT there are about 6 million herbivores on private farms. Until now, academic literature assumed there were between 16 million and 20 million animals on the ranches. Wouter van Hoven, an emeritus professor at the University of Pretoria who estimated the higher number, said by phone his research refers to all animals in South Africa, including those in national reserves and not just on ranches. Wildlife Ranching South Africa will publish a response later, Chief Executive Officer Adri Kitshoff said by phone.

“It is impossible to assess the true extent of wildlife ranching in South Africa,” researchers led by EWT’s Andrew Taylor said in the report. “This makes it difficult to determine the accuracy of many statements made by stakeholders in the industry, many of which, in our opinion, use inflated figures.”

Hunters and ranchers who breed wild animals often cite the rapid growth in animal numbers since the 1960s as justification for their activities and argue that they help boost biodiversity and conservation. In addition to hunting, those activities include game viewing and breeding animals for auctions.

The 6 million wild animals in private ranches is still a large rise from the 575,000 large mammals living in South Africa in the early 1960s estimated by Van Hoven. Wildlife ranching is still a “major contributor to the economy, job creation and biodiversity conservation,” EWT said. The ranches are “closer to what would be considered natural” than livestock and crop farms, which they are often converted from, benefiting the environment, it said.

The study expressed concern that some farms may be having a negative impact, stating “the degree to which wildlife ranches put up fences to secure their animals, and the increasing level of intensification that appears to be taking place due to the growth of the breeding of high value species and color variants, must be having a detrimental impact on biodiversity”.

There are 8,979 private wildlife ranches in South Africa covering 170,419 km2 EWT said in the study. Hunting generates about 2.6 billion rand ($164 million) in revenue a year, while auctions make 4.3 billion rand and meat production earns about 600 million rand. About 65,000 people work in the industry earning a median salary of 3,441 rand a month.

Editor’s Note: Read the 16th February Press Release of the Endangered Wildlife Trust THE ROLE OF THE WILDLIFE RANCHING INDUSTRY IN SOUTH AFRICA’S GREEN ECONOMY

Download the full report AN ASSESSMENT OF THE ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CONSERVATION VALUE OF THE WILDLIFE RANCHING INDUSTRY AND ITS POTENTIAL TO SUPPORT THE GREEN ECONOMY IN SOUTH AFRICA. Taylor, W.A., Lindsey, P.A. & Davies-Mostert, H. 2015. The Endangered Wildlife Trust, Johannesburg.

Author: Kevin Crowley, February 4, 2016, Bloomberg News

 

[lcq]

“It is impossible to assess the true extent of wildlife ranching in South Africa,” researchers led by EWT’s Andrew Taylor said in the report. “This makes it difficult to determine the accuracy of many statements made by stakeholders in the industry, many of which, in our opinion, use inflated figures.”

Translation: we haven't a clue so we just pulled this out of our ass so the anti-hunters will keep financing our propaganda

 

[AB2506]

From the THE ROLE OF THE WILDLIFE RANCHING INDUSTRY IN SOUTH AFRICA’S GREEN ECONOMY
"The total number of large herbivores on all private wildlife ranches across South Africa was estimated to be approximately 6 million animals during 2014. This number excluded animals on private properties that may have wildlife but that do not obtain any commercial benefit from it, such as those conducting more traditional forms of agriculture. It also excludes animals on state protected areas. Small uncommon herbivore species such as Suni, Red and Blue Duiker and grysbok species were not counted and neither were Warthogs or Bushpigs;"

"Firstly, 6 million large herbivores is a very large number and represents a ten-fold increase since the boom in private wildlife ranching started in South Africa. This makes South Africa unusual among African countries, where wildlife numbers have either remained the same or have decreased (Namibia being an exception). This increase in wildlife numbers, along with other environmental improvements that often go hand in hand with converting livestock farms to wildlife ranches, represents a net positive contribution to biodiversity conservation.
o Secondly, not only were the methods of calculation for the two outcomes different, but they were made for different areas, with the figure of 18 million animals representing the whole country;
 Not all wildlife on wildlife ranches can be considered to be ‘wild’ however, because they are generally kept in breeding camps, fed supplemental food to stay alive, protected from predators and given veterinary care. Although ‘wild’ is difficult to define precisely, it implies an animal that has to fend for itself. The study estimated that around 6% of the area used by wildlife ranching comprises intensive breeding camps for high value species such as buffalo, roan, sable and colour variants of plains game. This statistic does not necessarily present a problem for conservation on private land if the remaining 94% of wildlife ranching areas are managed extensively and in line with biodiversity conservation principles. However, an issue of concern is that the area under intensive management is increasing and we cannot say that the remaining land is indeed being managed for biodiversity conservation. This may lead to increasing amounts of fencing, which fragments the landscape further, and may also result in breeding management practices that select animals according to human preferred characteristics rather than naturally selected traits."

"Main recommendations include:
 Provincial nature conservation departments need to create centralised, electronic permitting systems to monitor and manage all permitting requirements;
 There is a need to ground-truth the impacts of wildlife ranching management practises on biodiversity; and
 National and provincial legislation need to be brought into alignment to ease the burden of permitting requirements for wildlife ranchers
According to Dr. Andrew Taylor, “Our study reiterates earlier findings that wildlife ranching is a thriving industry in South Africa and that the sustainable use of our wildlife resources can contribute important conservation, economic and social benefits to the biodiversity economy when it is practiced responsibly.” This study was funded by the Green Fund, but all findings and opinions are those of the EWT and do not represent the official view of the Green Fund"


It is not actually as biased as at the first blush. Has some good points.