Cracks are seen in the dried-up municipal dam in drought-stricken Graaff-Reinet, South Africa, in a Nov. 14, 2019, file photo.A severe drought is threatening South Africa’s wildlife industry, with game farmers keeping fewer animals and tourists visiting game lodges in smaller numbers.
The wildlife industry generates revenue for South Africa through tourism, hunting, breeding and meat production. Trophy hunting alone generated 2 billion rand in 2016, according to research carried out for the environment ministry. Once home to around 4,500 wild animals – including 35 different species, from antelope to rhino – the lodge has lost around 1,000 animals due to drought. Carcasses are piling up in abandoned mines on the edge of the property.
“Nobody wants to buy the game, because they also … the same drought,” said farm manager Gideon Watts, adding that his farm received a quarter of its usual rainfall this season.