Trophy hunting in South Africa: is it worth it?

The report argues that South Africa's policy of elevating trophy hunting as a conservation tool lacks empirical support and is economically insignificant compared to non-consumptive tourism. It highlights systemic governance failures, particularly in the Association of Private Nature Reserves (APNR), and suggests that the practice may actually harm biodiversity by targeting prime males and fragmenting landscapes. The author recommends a moratorium on trophy hunting for elephants, rhinos, leopards, lions, and giraffes, proposing a shift toward non-lethal alternatives like carbon and biodiversity credits.

• Trophy hunting provides minimal economic benefit to South Africa compared to non-consumptive tourism. While one study estimated its value at $341 million for the 2015/16 season, tourism in 2019 was worth $22.1 billion.
• The economic benefits of trophy hunting do not primarily reach poor rural households. Estimates suggest only about 9% of total income from trophy hunting accrues to low-income households, with the majority benefiting middle-income households and wealthy landowners.
• Trophy hunting may be ecologically harmful because it targets prime adult males, which can undermine the health of the gene pool and population sustainability.
• The report identifies severe governance failures in South Africa's wildlife management, including the use of quotas without scientific basis and the 'res nullius' loophole in the APNR that allows private landowners to hunt public animals from the Kruger National Park.
• Non-consumptive tourism is significantly more effective at job creation than trophy hunting. The report estimates that reallocating land from trophy hunting to non-consumptive tourism could create approximately 11.39 times more jobs.
• The carbon sequestration value of elephants far exceeds the revenue generated from trophy hunting. For example, a conservative carbon value for one elephant is estimated at $400,000, while a hunt may only yield $46,000.
• The High-Level Panel (HLP) report and the subsequent Draft Policy Position are criticized for supporting trophy hunting without providing empirical evidence to justify it as a conservation tool.

APA

Harvey, R., Dube, C., Bennett, M., & Desai, P. (2022). Trophy hunting in South Africa: is it worth it? Good Governance Africa. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/03/Trophy-Hunting-Working-paper.pdf

Chicago

Harvey, Ross, Chrissy Dube, Monique Bennett, and Pranish Desai. Trophy hunting in South Africa: is it worth it? Good Governance Africa, 2022. https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/03/Trophy-Hunting-Working-paper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Harvey |first1=Ross |last2=Dube |first2=Chrissy |last3=Bennett |first3=Monique |last4=Desai |first4=Pranish |title=Trophy hunting in South Africa: is it worth it? |publisher=Good Governance Africa |date=March 2022 |url=https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/03/Trophy-Hunting-Working-paper.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{harvey2022trophy, author = {Harvey, Ross and Dube, Chrissy and Bennett, Monique and Desai, Pranish}, title = {{Trophy hunting in South Africa: is it worth it?}}, institution = {Good Governance Africa}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://digitalmallblobstorage.blob.core.windows.net/wp-content/2022/03/Trophy-Hunting-Working-paper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }