Trophy Hunting In South Africa: Conservation Or Business?
Trophy hunting is the practice of killing wild animals to obtain “trophies” made of specific body parts like tusks, heads or skins, which are either kept by the hunter or sold to collectors. Hunting for trophies is legal in a variety of countries around the world. While hunters and hunter associations advertise trophy hunting as a “sport,” governments profiting from the practice present it as a tool for conservation and species management.
In 2013 the South African Minister of the Environment expressed the intention of promoting the country as one of the top global destinations for trophy hunting. But is South Africa’s trophy hunting an effective conservation strategy or is it just a cruel yet lucrative hobby for the global wealthy? This 2021 report from Humane Society International (HSI) investigated the extent of South Africa’s international trophy trade between 2014 and 2018, assessing whether trophy hunting meaningfully contributed to South Africa’s conservation strategy.
For their investigation, HSI used data collected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna (CITES). Therefore, only the species listed by CITES are included.
Between 2014 and 2018, South Africa was the world’s second-most exporter of trophies, after Canada. In that period, South Africa exported more trophies than any other African country: a total of 21,018 trophies, or an average of 4,204 trophies per year. This number also means that South Africa exported 16% of the total number of animal trophies traded worldwide.
The most common species exported from South Africa was the African lion. 20% of the total trophies exported were lions, or a total of 4,176 lion trophies during the 2014-2018 period. The Chacma baboon, caracal, vervet monkey, African elephant, hippopotamus, Hartmann’s mountain zebra, bontebok, southern white rhinoceros, leopard, and African civet followed the African lion as the top 11 most exported species.
The investigation found that only 25% of wild-sourced trophies that were exported came from species managed through a national conservation plan. 32% of all exported trophies were obtained from captive animals. These data indicate that trophy hunting in South Africa did not contribute to species conservation.
The investigation also found that global demand keeps the international trophy trade alive. Between 2014-2018, 54% of trophies exported from South Africa were sent to the United States. The U.S. was the top importer, while Spain, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Mexico, Germany, Hungary, Sweden, and France followed in the top 10 list.
South Africa’s government and hunting industry claim that trophy hunting is an “ecologically sustainable” and “effective conservation tool” contributing to species and ecosystem conservation. This report demonstrated that, between 2014 and 2018, trophy hunting did not help species conservation and management in South Africa. Only 25% of all wild animals hunted were part of a conservation plan. One-third of all animals hunted for trophies were bred in captivity and transferred to locations where they could be easily killed by top-paying hunters. Many species did not belong to any population management plan.
Animal advocates can use the data presented in this report to raise awareness of the ethical concerns and ecological consequences of trophy hunting, while advocates in South Africa can use this report to counteract the conservation claims made by their government. At the same time, animal advocates located in the top 10 importing countries can use this information to raise awareness of the dramatic consequences of the demand for trophies.