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REUTERS<\/p>\n
Ezemvelo KZN Wildlifes annual wildlife game auction celebrates its 24th anniversary next month.\tPICTURE:REUTERS<\/p>\n
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Next month marks the 24th anniversary of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife\u2019s annual wildlife game auction, an event I believe carries huge significance and importance which I\u2019m not certain many recognise. <\/p>\n
So let me say it at the outset. This auction has been one of the great contributors to wildlife conservation in SA, and KZN. It is certainly worthy of celebration. <\/p>\n
Perhaps they could not have foreseen it back in 1989, but this Natal Parks Board (NPB)-initiated occasion has been one of the single biggest catalysts for the rapid expansion of wildlife land, in the form of private game farms, outside of state game parks. <\/p>\n
Further, it has been the springboard for the huge proliferation of many of our game species beyond the limited borders of state game reserves. Not only have game numbers greatly increased on our own land but equally they have flourished on private land. Collectively, this sale and relocation of game through our auction has also enhanced the genetic diversity of species; hence their health. <\/p>\n
KZN has a great number of conservationists, people who are passionate about wildlife and the \u201cbush experience\u201d, as some would put it. This is not surprising considering the province\u2019s remarkable beauty and diversity of natural landscape, illustrated by our commanding two world heritage sites as well as Ramsar sites. We have a proud conservation history that is dotted with milestones; be it the establishment of the first game reserve in Africa (Lake St Lucia) or the remarkable efforts made towards saving our rhino species in the Imfolozi Game Reserve during the 1960s, for example. I suggest our wildlife auction should be added to these milestones. <\/p>\n
Up until the 1970s the vast majority of our wildlife was held in our state-run game reserves in this province. They were (and still are, of course) managed expertly and as a result wildlife numbers in nearly all species grew exponentially. But once population numbers reach the limit of the land\u2019s carrying capacity, reproduction slows. The authorities began to examine what measures should be taken outside of culling to accommodate these burgeoning numbers. <\/p>\n
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Bandile Mkhize<\/p>\n
<\/span><\/p>\n<\/p>\n In 1989 the NPB held its first official game auction. It was a stroke of genius. For the very first time a state conservation body in SA took the plunge and really supported the concept of attaching a commercial value to wildlife and selling these state assets to the private sector. It meant that cattle farmers, for example, were prompted into questioning their livestock business, especially those in areas where such a practice was often pretty marginal and damaging to the environment. <\/p>\n The consequence was that the private game farm industry has grown hugely and in doing so effectively converted cattle farming land back to original bushveld. Not only has this provided thousands upon thousands of new hectares for our wildlife but it has inevitably sponsored a major boost to our natural ecology; indigenous trees, plants, birds, insects and the like. <\/p>\n If KZN had five private game farms before 1989, then now there must be nearly 90. Add up all this land! <\/p>\n These registered commercial game farms (all licensed to sell live game as well as offer hunting and eco-tourism as constituents of their income stream), now represent a collective land holding that surpasses all SA\u2019s state game parks put together. And, of course, don\u2019t forget the employment and revenue benefits that have emanated from the eco-tourism component of this industry. <\/p>\n While I celebrate, let me also address a few concerns. Some have questioned this commercialisation of wildlife. Actually, I have never fully grasped this message, save that in an ideal world where land was unlimited, this auction would not have been necessary. Yes, perhaps if I could perceive such a world I, too, might prefer to have our wildlife wander free and be the subject of discovery and wonder. But today\u2019s material world does not allow such indulgence. <\/p>\n And should we sell white rhino at our auction when they are being poached on such a vast scale, the implication being that they are just going to be shot on these private game farms as part of the hunting industry? <\/p>\n I must state in no uncertain terms that game auctions like ours are absolutely fundamental to our rhinos\u2019 survival. As I have stated, there is only a limited amount of state land available to hold wildlife exclusively. In the meantime, we have a responsibility to nurture it and stimulate its proliferation. Like all businesses, yes, there might be the indiscriminate few who might abuse the rhino. But by far the vast majority are hunted when they are old bulls and hence their death in no way affects the species\u2019 survival. And remember, many game farmers breed these rhino to sell off at their own live game auction sales. <\/p>\n Our black rhino expansion programme, begun in 2003, provides an excellent indication of the benefit that private land has offered us. We have been able to relocate some 120 black rhino and in the process witnessed a 34 percent increase in their numbers. Again, this expansion of their range and numbers would simply not have been possible without the proliferation of private game farms. <\/p>\n Saturation <\/p>\n As with a number of other species, our white rhino population numbers have long since reached saturation point on our state reserves. When there are too many, their growth slows considerably. The converse is equally true; rhinos breed far more productively when they have abundant resources at their disposal. <\/p>\n So, selling off surplus animals not only stimulates their numbers on our own reserves but also increases their population on private reserves. <\/p>\n For the record, Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has sold and relocated some 1 124 white rhino since the annual game auction began in 1989. This number is worth mentioning. Add to this figure the increased numbers that would have resulted from their own reproduction over the years and these animals alone represent a sizeable figure of the country\u2019s current total national population, in the order of between 20 000-22 000 animals. <\/p>\n Finally, there is the lesser consideration of the money that Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife has earned from these game auctions. While important, there are two things worth noting here. Firstly, this money goes directly back into our operating budget and, secondly, represents perhaps no more than 1 percent of our total budget. But with conservation having to pay for itself as far as possible, this income provides an important stimulus to fulfilling our core mandate of managing our biodiversity. <\/p>\n Notwithstanding the dreadful poaching cloud that hangs over us all, let it be said that you have to look for the positive. And our game auction is most certainly one of them. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n l Bandile Mkhize is the CEO of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife.<\/strong> <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" REUTERS Ezemvelo KZN Wildlifes annual wildlife game auction celebrates its 24th anniversary next month. PICTURE:REUTERS Next month marks the 24th anniversary of Ezemvelo KZN Wildlife\u2019s annual wildlife game auction, an event I believe carries huge significance and importance which I\u2019m not certain many recognise. So let me say it at the outset. This auction has […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[1],"tags":[8275,953,2143],"class_list":{"0":"post-10097","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-south-africa","7":"tag-durban","8":"tag-newspaper","9":"tag-the-mercury","10":"entry"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10097","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=10097"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/10097\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=10097"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=10097"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.myza.co.za\/press\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=10097"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}