Durban - Cash-strapped Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife is considering raising extra money by inviting more hunters into the province’s wildlife reserves.
In a memorandum, presented to the provincial parliament last week, Ezemvelo chief executive Bandile Mkhize confirmed that the conservation body was investigating proposals to increase the number of animals killed by revenue-paying hunters rather than through culling by wildlife managers.
Mkhize told finance portfolio committee and public accounts standing committee members that the organisation’s Animal Population Control division drew up scientifically based quotas every year for the removal of “excess” animals within Ezemvelo’s fenced-off game and nature reserves.
In response to queries about the cost difference between revenue from hunting and culling or selling live animals, Mkhize said hunting generally produced more revenue.
For example, selling the meat from an impala culled by wildlife managers could raise about R518, compared to R807 if the animal was sold alive at a wildlife auction.
By comparison, foreign hunters might pay R1 500 to hunt an impala, while local hunters would pay about R650.
Foreign hunters were expected to pay around R9 000 to shoot a nyala while the same animal would be likely to fetch around R4 300 on auction, or about R880 if it was shot by rangers and sold as meat.
Foreign hunters were likely to pay about R10 000 to shoot an eland and local hunters about R6 500, compared to a live auction price of around R6 000 or R3 400 for meat.
Unlike SA National Parks, which allows no hunting in national parks, Ezemvelo already has three controlled hunting areas within the Mkhuze, Phongolo and Spioenkop reserves.
Hunting is legally permitted only in designated sections of these reserves and the Mkhuze-controlled hunting area is off-limits to ordinary tourists.
Mkhize said that if Ezemvelo were to consider an expansion of hunting, this would entail proclaiming new controlled hunting areas or the deproclamation and reproclamation of existing protected areas into controlled hunting areas.
“The other consequence would be in terms of the impact that hunting might have on eco-tourism. The outcome of the investigation on the proposal to increase hunting is still pending.”
Mkhize said a new study would be commissioned in the coming financial year as the Ezemvelo employees conducting the original investigation had left the organisation.
Ezemvelo did not respond to a list of queries from The Mercury this week about several aspects of the investigation.
For example, Ezemvelo was asked to comment on whether the public would be invited to comment on the plans and whether further hunting to raise money could erode the conservation body’s primary mandate to protect biological diversity.
Commenting on the investigation, former Imfolozi game warden and internationally renowned conservationist Ian Player said he was not opposed to controlled hunting in certain areas.
“But I certainly would not support hunting in reserves such as the Hluhluwe-Imfolozi Park.
“This area has been a game reserve since 1895 and all hell would break loose if anyone was allowed to hunt there.”
However, Player said he was not opposed to the creation of new controlled hunting areas, especially in some communally owned reserves where poor communities stood to gain significant hunting revenue by setting aside land for conservation purposes.
The Wildlife and Environment Society of SA (Wessa) has not commented on the plan so far.
The Mercury