Trophy Hunting

figure 6.85 Trophy hunting is a significant industry in South Africa due to our large variety of wildlife species.

Trophy hunting is most likely the hunting industry’s economic platform, based on income gained both directly and indirectly, while local meat hunters outweigh trophy hunters. As a result, trophy hunting will always be a key source of money for wildlife ranchers, regardless of the contribution of other forms of utilisation. This composition can be improved by increasing the number of rare wildlife species. Because most of the chosen trophy species require good grazing and command high prices, it is best to focus on them for trophy hunting rather than the short grass grazers, such as the impala and blue wildebeest, which occur in big groups and are less expensive. Another alternative is to mix the tall grass grazers with cattle on a ranch, which will considerably boost the income. Trophy hunters, particularly international hunters, require adequate facilities.

Requirements for Trophy Hunting

A professional hunter needs to adhere to certain laws and requirements.

Trophy hunting is a specialised type of wildlife use in which the trophy hunter hunts extraordinary and typically male animals simply for sport. Trophy hunters pay exorbitant rates for uncommon and high-quality trophies, and their trophies hold significant sentimental significance. Professional hunters and outfitters are required by law to adhere to certain requirements before they can work professionally. They will be able to give high-quality service if they follow the following guidelines:

The ranch should have a wilderness atmosphere.
It should be easy to reach the ranch from a large city or have a suitable airstrip. In a busy schedule, it would make it possible to go hunt for a short period.
The ranch should have a rich biodiversity, but it is not advised to introduce exotic species if they do not occur naturally in the region.
The ranch should be vast, and many forms of wildlife utilisation, such as tourism, fishing, game-bird hunting, handgun hunting, bird-watching, and hiking, will be beneficial. This will service a larger market and create more revenue.
The size of the wildlife ranch will decide the number of animals of various feeding types that it will accommodate. This will once again limit the amount of hunting packages available. One hunting package per 1000 ha is a rough estimate for a typical South African savanna wildlife ranch.
The hunting area should be appealing to trophy hunters. If one of the Big Five could be accommodated, it would be a huge draw for trophy hunters, who all desire to hunt one or all of the Big Five. Other attractions could include prehistoric ruins or unusual plants, such as a Tamboti forest, among others.
It is recommended that cattle ranching not be coupled with game ranching if the main source of income is from foreign trophy hunters. If it is not possible to avoid it, cattle ranching should be split from hunting regions.
There should be enough water, and the waterholes should appear natural and be distributed as evenly as possible.
The ranch should preferably not be located in a disease-control zone, as this may affect the shipping of trophies to overseas clients’ home countries.
Appropriate accommodations, meat- and trophy-processing facilities, and so on should be available. The hunting ranch will gain popularity through word of mouth because of its exceptional facilities and service.

Legislation

A professional hunter should always be present during a hunt with a client.

Each region has its trophy hunting legislation. To acquire further information, contact the conservation authority in your area. A comprehensive guideline based on the guidelines for professional hunters and outfitters in Limpopo and Mpumalanga is offered. First, the distinction between a professional hunter and a hunting outfitter should be made clear.

A professional hunter is a person who escorts another person, who usually is not a resident of South Africa, for a reward so that the other person may hunt a wild animal legally. The duties of a professional hunter include the following:

Should be present at all times during the hunting of a wild animal by a client, and supervise the hunt.
Ensure that the client adheres to the relevant laws and ethics regarding trophy hunting.
To report any transgressions committed by the client to the South African Police Service or the relevant conservation authority within 24 hours.
To keep a register of the hunting expedition of every client.

A hunting outfitter is a person who offers or arranges a hunt for a person, who normally is not resident of South Africa, for a reward. A trophy is any part of a wild animal that is hunted by a client and is retained as a memento of a successful hunt.

The following are the duties and responsibilities of a hunting outfitter:

To enter a written contract with the trophy hunter before the hunt starts.
To obtain the necessary permits and documentation to enable the client to hunt a wild animal, transport the trophies and remove the trophies from the area where they were hunted.
To supply the necessary facilities such as a hunting camp, a shooting range and hunting equipment, including vehicles.
To dispatch the trophy to a taxidermist or the client.
To place the hunting advertisements.

The conservative estimate of South African totals, including statistics from all provinces, is 4 723 professional hunters and 1 859 outfitters.

The Foreign Hunter

Foreigners enjoy hunting in South Africa.

Foreign hunters return to South Africa regularly for trophy hunting. As a result, it is critical to provide high-quality service and maintain long-term relationships with the hunters that utilise these facilities. South Africa’s trophy hunting industry serves clients from all major countries around the world, with recent data claiming that there are 43 million active recreational hunters living in South Africa, the United States of America, and Europe alone. During 2004, South Africa received an average of 163 000 foreign visitors from non-African countries each month. Over 12 months, 7 200 of these were trophy hunters. During 2005, the monthly average grew to 169 000, representing a 3.68% increase in tourists to South Africa. In comparison, the number of trophy hunters visiting South Africa in 2005 climbed by 11.11%.

According to research, 98% of trophy hunters who visit South Africa each year are white guys who speak English fluently. Their ages range from 40-64, and they make R650 000.00 or more each year on average. 70% of the target market is made up of high-earning university graduates who are now pursuing an entrepreneurial career. Their jobs range from plumbers to doctors to engineers to nature guides. Blacks, Arabians, and Hispanics make up the remaining 2% of the market. In 2005, the number of trophy hunters visiting South Africa from the United States of America was 4,310 (53,87%), making it the leading source country. This was followed by hunters from Spain (6,55%), Germany (4,25%), France (3,57%), Denmark (3,37%), England (2,89%), and other countries such as Austria, Belgium, Norway, and the United Arab Emirates. The reasons why these foreign hunters select South Africa as a trophy hunting destination are as follows.:

Direct access to major airlines from all continents.
The world-class infrastructure of transport and health facilities.
The greatest range of species to hunt, including the Big Five.
Great variety and reasonably priced wing shooting.
Bowhunting, with great successes on a variety of species within a limited time.
Muzzle-loading safaris are being offered more extensively.
Low-cost entry-level hunts are less expensive than most European and American entry-level hunts.
World-class taxidermy services.
Top tourist attractions.
Political stability.

Subject to ‘free market principles,’ the trophy hunting industry not only contributes to the South African economy, accounting for about 0.25% of GDP per year, but also to employment in a variety of sectors. The entire money earned by the South African trophy hunting industry in 2003 was nearly US$ 90 million, with day rates, animals hunted, and taxidermy requests, rising to nearly US$ 99 million in 2005, representing an 8.89% increase in revenue over two years. The 2004 trophy hunting industry was valued at US$ 130 million, which included estimates of pre- and post-safari expenditure in South Africa, as well as South African Airways flight income in travel expenses (More recent numbers place the hunting business at R1 billion). This figure includes an 18% contribution from the trophy hunting industry, a 53% contribution from the biltong hunting sector, and the remainder from auxiliary industries such as taxidermy and wildlife sales.

Cost of hunting packages which include accommodation, meals, and the animal being hunted.

The average length of stay for all foreign hunters is 9.2 days, with the pleasure of the outdoors being the primary reason (26%) mentioned for hunting. In order of importance, the most important aspects of the hunt were considered to be the quality of service of the professional hunter, the quality of service of the professional trackers and guides being used, trophy preparation, hunting conditions, the quality of service of the hunting outfitter, the abundance of game, the attitude of the wildlife rancher, and trophy size. The wilderness aspect of the ranch, meals and refreshments, transportation used on and to and from the ranch, the size of the ranch, and the processing and abattoir facilities were also essential, but less so. Hunting abilities were deemed most significant for the professional hunter in use, followed by trophy quality judgement ability and field and animal knowledge. Social skills were not graded highly.

Although the Big Five (elephant, African savanna buffalo, white rhinoceros, lion, leopard, and cheetah) generated a high trophy-hunting income, the top five game types in terms of numbers hunted were impala (13.5% of all trophies hunted), springbok (10.8%), blesbok (9.5%), warthog (8.7%), and greater kudu (8.1%).

The secret to maintaining a high trophy-hunting income appears to be diversifying the product offered and providing additional services. Poor game and poor service will hurt the trophy hunting industry.

Marketing Trophy Hunting

The game rancher can decide to promote the hunting packages by himself or he can make use of a hunting outfitter.

The game rancher can promote trophy hunting himself or through a hunting outfitter to whom the rancher sells hunting rights on the ranch in the form of a concession. The hunting outfitter and rancher should agree on who is accountable for and entitled to what services, as well as how much they will charge. In the event of a concession, the wildlife rancher and hunting outfitter can use the following financial framework as a guideline: The landowner earns 25% of the entire cost, the animal fees are 10%, the housing is 10%, the crew is 10%, the car is 5%, the administration is 10%, and the professional hunter is 15%. A wildlife rancher who does his marketing is not always certain when and where to advertise hunts. A brochure promoting hunting opportunities should include the following information:

The hunting fee for each type and sex of the animal.
The quota or package that each hunt entails.
The daily fee for the client and any guests.
The number of clients permitted per hunting package, as well as the number of hunting groups permitted to hunt concurrently.
The hunting season.
The minimum number of days that is allowed for each hunting package.
Reservation and payment procedures, including the requested deposit, services included in the fee and those that are free of charge.
Whether or not harmful diseases such as malaria or bilharzia are present in the area. This should be brought to the client’s attention immediately.
A pricing list. It is best to include a loose price list in the brochure because price changes frequently occur before the brochure supply runs out.
The applicable hunting laws, as well as any hunting fines, such as those for wounded animals. These must be clearly stated in the brochure and the hunting contract.

Trophy Animals

A variety of different animals are desired for trophy hunts.

The rarity of the animals hunted, the danger of hunting the animal, and the quantity and quality of flesh gained from the animal all influence which animals are preferred to be hunted as trophies. Foreign hunters, unlike South African hunters, are often not interested in using the meat of the animals they kill. When available, South Africans prefer the lion, elephant, leopard, black rhinoceros, and crocodile as trophies in that order. Impala, greater kudu, Burchell’s zebra, warthog, gemsbok, springbok, blesbok, blue wildebeest, Nyala, and steenbok are popular among international hunters. As one might assume, some species are more popular in specific countries, such as the warthog and bush pig, which are popular among Germans, and game-bird hunting is popular among Italian and Spanish hunters. Of course, the sort of trophy animal given by a wildlife rancher is dictated by the suitability of the ranch’s habitat for various species of animals. It is not suggested to introduce animal species into areas where they have not previously occurred.

Animals of Trophy Quality in Natural Populations

The development of a trophy-grade animal is determined by four factors: genetics, age, food quality, and regional distribution. The genuine trophy size of the horns is usually obtained in male animals in their prime when maximum horn development and regular wear are equal. Adult bulls and rams are past their peak in terms of trophy size, yet some trophy hunters prefer to hunt the oldest animals for trophies. Genetics play a geographical role, with animals from some places producing significantly higher-quality trophies than those from others. Food quality is one of the reasons why impala from the Thabazimbi district of Limpopo produce horns of unusual size. Furthermore, the impalas of East Africa have by far the largest horns in the region. In South Africa, the Karoo produces the best trophy steenbok. The springbok from the Swakopmund area of Namibia has the best trophy-sized horns, although it is smaller in size than the springbok from the Kalahari. Manipulation or overuse of trophy-quality animals by humans is causing substantial trophy quality variances, which may undermine the industry.

Trophy hunters are after animals that are rare and unique. Colour variants and animals with majestic horns are the most sought-after.

Many wildlife ranchers have been misled by the food-related reasons for trophy production into attempting to improve the trophy quality of some of their animals by bringing in genetic material from places where excellent trophies occur. Many efforts to improve trophy quality have failed since genetics, food, and region are not the only factors. As a result, management for optimal trophy production necessitates an in-depth investigation of the true foundation for the production or non-production of remarkable awards in a certain location. Even in places noted for producing good trophy animals, only a small percentage of the population will ever become outstanding trophy animals. In most wild populations, just 5% of the animals will be trophy calibre. The number of trophy-sized animals is also impacted by whether both sexes have horns or not.

Information available on the incidence of trophy-quality animals in natural populations is rare, some surveys have indicated the following percentages: sable antelope 6%, African savanna buffalo 8%, eland 13%, waterbuck 12%, blue wildebeest 11%, black wildebeest 15%, red hartebeest 14%, springbok 12% and warthog 12%. It is emphasised, however, that these percentages only serve as guidelines and that every wildlife rancher should determine the percentage of trophy animals in his herds because differences will occur for different herds and regions. Usually, the trophy animals in a population may be harvested relative to their ratio of occurrence. The rancher must determine the quota of trophy animals that can be hunted, especially because most foreign hunters book a year in advance their hunting trip.

The following equation will help to calculate the quota:

N = N₀[e^(λ-u)t]P where: N_{0 =}total number of animals

P= percentage of trophy animals

λ = percentage of yearling animals

u = percentage of animals that died during the year from natural causes

t = the count is repeated annually = 1

This calculation is only valid when the hunting is non-selective for sex and age. It seems that tooth weight in elephants and horn growth in bovids have an initial rapid growth early in the life of an animal, followed by a lowered period of slower growth when the increase in horn growth or tooth weight and natural horn wear are approximately equal. Thereafter the wear exceeds the growth and trophy quality declines gradually. The minimum horn length for various wild animals to qualify as Rowland Ward trophies is available on www.rolandward.com. Reliable data indicate that the peak of the mean horn length is reached at approximately six years of age in springbok, at 52 months of age in impala, at six years of age in sable antelope and at 54 months of age in the African savanna buffalo. In natural conditions, the animals at these ages usually do not contribute towards reproduction because of their low hierarchical position in the population. Therefore, it is strongly advised to leave some of these prime quality trophy animals to become dominant and breed, and not to harvest to total possible increment of prime trophy animals in a population at any given time.

Rowland Ward trophy minimum sizes.

TROPHY MINIMUMS
ANIMAL	SCI		ROWLAND WARD 30th Edn
	MIN.	MIN. BOW	MIN	RECORD
BLESBUCK	40	35	16 4/8	20 5/8
BONTEBOK	36	32	14	16 6/8
BUFFALO	101	90	64	91 5/8
BUSHBUCK	31	28	15	21 7/8
BUSHPIG	12	9	6	9
CROCODILE	9’7″	8’7″	13.5 FEET	17 FT. 9 IN
DUIKER – BLUE	4 4/16	3 10/16	1 12/16	2 8/16
DUIKER – COMMON	11	9	4 8/16	7 2/16
DUIKER – RED	8	7 6/16	2 8/16	4 2/16
ELAND	77	69	35	47 4/8
ELEPHANT	90	60	70 POUNDS	262 POUNDS
FALLOW DEER	150	135	100	168 4/8
GEMSBOK	81	72	40	49 4/8
GRYSBOK – CAPE	5	4	4 8/16	5 4/16
HARTEBEEST – RED	62	53	23	29 4/8
HIPPO	50	45	24 INCHES	35 5/16 INCHES
HYENA, SPOTTED	15	15	16	19 12/16
IMPALA	52	46	23 6/8	31 3/8
KLIPSPRINGER	10	9	4 2/16	6 6/16
KUDU, E.C GREATER	98	89	54	73 7/8
LECHWE – RED	58	52	26	29 4/8
LEOPARD	14	12	15 4/16	19
LION	23	22 8/16	24	28 12/16
LYNX / CARACAL	6	5	7	11 12/16
NYALA	63	56	27	34 4/8
ORIBI	13	11 8/16	5	7 8/16
PUKU	45	40	17	22 1/8
REEDBUCK – COMMON	21	18	13	19 4/8
REEDBUCK – GREY / VAAL RHEBOK	16	14	7 14/16	11 14/16
REEDBUCK – MOUNTAIN	11	9	6	10
RHINO – WHITE	70	63	26	62 2/8
ROAN	67	59	26 4/8	39
SABLE	96	86	42	55 3/8
SITATUNGA	60	56	26	36 3/8
SPRINGBUCK, COMMON	30	27	14	20 4/8
STEENBOK	8	7 3/16	1 8/16	7 10/16
SUNI, LIVINGSTON	9	8	2 2/16	4
TSESSEBE	40	36	15	18 7/8
WARTHOG	29	26	13	24
WATERBUCK	67	60	28	39 3/8
WILDEBEEST – BLACK	72	63	23	30 7/8
WILDEBEEST – BLUE	70	54	28 4/8	36

Several factors can influence the quality of the trophy animals; natural disasters, poaching, habitat loss and mismanagement, over-hunting, disease, regional variation in environmental conditions, drought, and human intervention or manipulation. It is important to remember that trophy quality can only be monitored in large unfenced areas with viable populations.