How drought and a dentist wrecked SA’s wildlife market
Wildlife prices are tumbling in SA as game breeders are squeezed by restrictions imposed on trophy hunting following the killing of the lion, known as Cecil, in 2015, and as the worst drought on record forces farmers to sell animals. The average price of a buffalo bull fell 71% to R95,704 in 2016 and is now a fraction of the record R2.1m set in 2013, according to auction house Vleissentraal. "There has been an onslaught on the trophy hunting industry and that has fed through to prices," said Peet van der Merwe, a professor of wildlife and tourism at North West University. "The drought has also hurt farmers, many of whom had to sell stock." The collapse marks the end of four years of skyrocketing values for South African wildlife, which is often specially bred for bigger horns or coloured coats. The practice has been criticised by environmentalists and even some hunters for what they see as unnaturally tampering with the gene pool. The boom in prices from 2011 to 2014 was driven by g...
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