SANParks' Culling Policy

[Peter Betts]

"culling for the restaurant" - usually called 'hunting'.

Why don't they remove all warthog from Addo? Is it a valuable source of income to sell them for culling every year?

There is Often Culling of Warthog in Addo ..They seal off whole areas of the Park and the Refridgerated Meat trucks move in

[Klipspringer]

The ostriches to be culled are relatively small numbers but the meat is certainly sold by the culling operators.

BTW: The Ostrich farming in the Little Karoo is very destructive to the environment and responsible for the land degradation in the area. Ironically, IF you insist to consume ostrich meat, you do less damage to the planet by chosing ostrich hunted in a SANPark or from intensive pen feeding farming.

Have come across this article recently re free range ostrich farming:
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?scr ... so&tlng=en

[Klipspringer]

Dr Dziba, Managing Executive for Conservation Services SANParks, explains to CapeTalk how the culling process works.

https://www.capetalk.co.za/articles/391 ... 6ScVlXF1c0

[Richprins]

The effect that large herbivores have on ecosystems originates from their intensity of landscape use.

The mind boggles that that is official policy in one park, but where elephant hammer the ecosystem and change the landscape in another (Kruger) it is ignored!

[Klipspringer]

The effect that large herbivores have on ecosystems originates from their intensity of landscape use.

The mind boggles that that is official policy in one park, but where elephant hammer the ecosystem and change the landscape in another (Kruger) it is ignored!

SANParks take on this is to change the landscape use by water distribution and make space available to use the areas in Moz etc. Not ignored.

[Peter Betts]

The ostriches to be culled are relatively small numbers but the meat is certainly sold by the culling operators.

BTW: The Ostrich farming in the Little Karoo is very destructive to the environment and responsible for the land degradation in the area. Ironically, IF you insist to consume ostrich meat, you do less damage to the planet by chosing ostrich hunted in a SANPark or from intensive pen feeding farming.

Have come across this article recently re free range ostrich farming:
http://www.scielo.org.za/scielo.php?scr ... so&tlng=en

Totally agree about the denuding of the ground @ Klipspringer ..but How am I to know if its SANParks Free Range Rare Ostrich vs a Common Little Karoo Farmed Ostrich ?..We eat Ostrich Often = NO Cholestrol we dont have Cholestrol problems but want to keep it taht way 69 and all that LOL

[Klipspringer]

All very thoroughly explained apart from Kruger. Why is Kruger left out almost completely? There must be a lot going on there

KNP is about to develop culling for game meat sales without involvment of culling operators. Remember the Skukuza abatoir expanding plans?

The WWF-SA Nedbank Green Trust has invested R2,1m over a threeyear period (2018 to 2020) for a feasibility study and business plan to upgrade the Skukuza game meat-processing facility in the Greater Kruger area, and to develop a game meat guideline for the industry.
The development of the Greater Kruger game meat market is intended to start a commercial game meat production and catalysing a range of wildlife economy opportunities in the region, including the development of small-businesses trading in game meat pies and use of hides, horns and other materials to make and sell décor and furniture items.
The Skukuza meat-processing facility will be used to process all livestock and game meat, act as a training facility and develop related SMMEs for SANParks and communities living around the Kruger National Park.
The intention is also to create a market focused on the Greater Kruger area, which provides market access to existing and new community-owned protected areas.

And there is demand for such services, several reserves have started culling already for the sake of revenue generation from game meat.
https://www.usnews.com/news/world/artic ... e-pandemic


And it's part of a government plan to formalize the South African game meat industry (remember the amendments of the meat safety act), and create a network of game meat processing facilitates (targeting 110 new facilities producing 18,500 tons of venison with 2,500 new jobs and USD110 million in annual revenue within 4 years.
Around PAs some small and medium businesses owned by previously disadvantaged people (immagine the Shangoni development node) will engage in wildlife ranching, live game sales, safari hunting, venison production, value addition for by-products and related industries.

[Richprins]

Where is the outrage amongst overseas conservation lobby groups? One is not allowed to hunt in a national park...

[Lisbeth]

Yes, Klippie, I do remember the Skukuza abattoir expanding plans, now that you mention it

I hope that they are not going to cull more than the usual number, depending on weather and food conditions, due to greed, as it sounds as if it is going to be a really big industry

[Klipspringer]

Where is the outrage amongst overseas conservation lobby groups? One is not allowed to hunt in a national park...

No outrage without awareness This is all done without media coverage.

That is exactly the point you have made, all this projects transform culling for conservation (management of grazers etc) or wildlife conflict (the odd elephant in village) into commercial hunting for game meat sales.
IMO, SANParks can no longer claim, that there is (or will be) no hunting in National Parks. Even if "sustainable" this policy change should not go unnoticed.