Sustainable Use: How Putting a Value on Wildlife Can Save It

It might sound like a paradox: to save a species, we must use it. This concept, known as “sustainable use,” is often misunderstood, sparking emotional debates filled with charged, misrepresentative images of hunters and endangered animals. Yet, in South Africa, this very principle has been the engine behind one of the world’s most remarkable conservation success stories, turning the tide for species once on the brink of extinction. This article explores what sustainable use really means, why it’s a vital conservation tool, and the challenges it faces today.

What Does “Sustainable Use” Actually Mean?

At its core, sustainable use means utilising wild species in ethical ways and at rates that don’t harm their long-term survival or the health of their ecosystems. It’s a pragmatic approach built on a simple premise: for wildlife to be protected, it must have tangible value for the people who live alongside it. If wildlife provides income and livelihoods, landowners and communities have a powerful incentive to conserve habitats rather than convert them to farmland or other uses.

Sustainable use is also not a novel concept that recently morphed out of the modern day profit-churning machines. The practice of sustainable use has been passed on as an integral part of our heritage and culture through millennia.

Today, this isn’t just a local philosophy; it’s a cornerstone of international conservation policy, recognised by bodies like the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). It’s a toolkit that includes well-managed hunting, photographic tourism, game meat production, and live game sales – all designed to make conservation economically viable.

South Africa’s Journey From Collapse to Abundance

To understand the power of sustainable use, we need only look at South Africa’s history. In the early 20th century, our wildlife was in crisis. Unregulated hunting and habitat loss had decimated populations. By 1906, only 10 elephants remained in the Kruger area; by 1895, fewer than 50 white rhinos survived; and by 1928, the black wildebeest numbered less than 40.

The turning point came with a shift in policy. The Game Theft Act of 1991 was a landmark piece of legislation that granted private landowners legal ownership of wildlife on their property. Suddenly, wild animals were no longer pests to be eradicated for the benefit of livestock, but valuable assets to be managed and conserved. This sparked a revolution in land use. Marginal farmland was converted into thriving wildlife ranches, a process now known as “rewilding”.

Today, the results are staggering. South Africa is home to over 16 million wild animals on private and communal land, a dramatic increase from an all-time low of under 300,000 in the 1930s. Private wildlife ranches now cover 20 million hectares, an area ten times the size of Kruger National Park, and host an estimated 80% of the nation’s wildlife. These private lands boast higher species richness and more threatened species than state-owned protected areas.

The Science Behind the Success

So, how does selectively hunting an animal help its population grow?

The crux lies in managing population dynamics to avoid the rise-and-crash cycles seen in unmanaged herds. An unmanaged herd will multiply until it exceeds the land’s carrying capacity, leading to overgrazing, habitat degradation, starvation, and disease, which ultimately causes the population to crash. Take the recent devastation witnessed at Madikwe Game Reserve for example.

Responsible hunting avoids this by selectively harvesting surplus animals, typically older males that are no longer contributing to breeding. This keeps the herd size at an optimal level, where there is plenty of food and resources for the breeding population. A managed buffalo herd, for instance, can see a 25% annual population increase, compared to the eventual 90% loss in a crashing, unmanaged herd. This ensures the herd remains healthy, genetically robust, and in balance with its environment.

The Rhino Revival

The recovery of the white rhino is perhaps the most powerful testament to this model. From fewer than 50 individuals in the late 1890s, the population rebounded to over 18,000, thanks to conservation efforts funded by live sales and regulated hunting. Research confirms that a well-regulated trophy hunting off-take, averaging just 0.67% of the population annually, is compatible with population growth. Today, 61% of South Africa’s rhinos are protected on private land, a conservation success story driven by the economic incentives of sustainable use.

Beyond Conservation: An Economic Lifeline for Rural Areas

The benefits of sustainable use extend far beyond wildlife numbers. Hunting tourism is a powerful economic engine, contributing an estimated R44 billion yearly to the South African economy and supporting nearly 95,000 jobs, many of which are in remote rural areas where opportunities are scarce.

Groundbreaking research done by Prof. Peet van der Merwe and Dr. Andrea Saayman, from the North-West University shows that for every dollar a hunting tourist spends, production in the economy increases by an additional $1.97. This revenue supports not just the ranches themselves but a wide network of businesses – from taxidermists and veterinarians to local guides and hospitality providers. 

Crucially, this industry creates jobs for lower-skilled workers, such as trackers and skinners, a segment of the population highly vulnerable to unemployment. By creating sustainable livelihoods, the wildlife industry reduces poverty and gives communities a direct stake in protecting their natural heritage.

The Challenges and Criticisms

Despite its proven success, the principle of sustainable use faces significant challenges. Much of the opposition is driven by emotion and misinformation, often perpetuated by animal rights organisations and media outlets that portray a simplified, one-dimensional narrative of “good” animals and “bad” hunters. This “clickbait conservation” often ignores the scientific complexities and fails to include the voices of the African communities who live with and manage wildlife daily.

These campaigns frequently call for blanket bans on trophy hunting imports, ignoring the devastating consequences such policies could have. As research shows, removing the economic incentives provided by regulated hunting can make wildlife land economically unviable, accelerating its conversion to agriculture and leading to increased poaching and human-wildlife conflict.

Of course, the model is not without its own internal challenges.

For sustainable use to be credible, it must be underpinned by:

• Strong Governance: Science-based quotas, transparent monitoring, and strict enforcement are essential to prevent overexploitation.

• Equitable Benefits: Revenue must flow back to local communities to ensure they see tangible returns from conservation.

• Ethical Standards: The industry must remain committed to the highest ethical standards.

Conservation is not a simple morality play; it’s a complex negotiation between the needs of people and wildlife. While non-consumptive tourism like photographic safaris plays an important role, it is not always viable in vast, remote areas where hunting provides the primary revenue stream.

The evidence is clear: South Africa’s sustainable use model works. It has restored habitats, revived species from the brink, and empowered rural communities.

As Richard York, CEO of Wildlife Ranching South Africa, states, “this approach has transformed wildlife from a liability into a valued resource, enabling it to compete with and often outperform other land uses.”

The greatest threat to Africa’s wildlife is not the regulated hunter, but the loss of habitat and the poverty that drives poaching. By putting a real, sustainable value on our wildlife, we give landowners and communities the means and the motive to protect it for generations to come. That is the logical, proven power of sustainable use.

At Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA), we champion the responsible and sustainable use of South Africa’s rich biodiversity. As a voluntary, non-profit organization, we represent wildlife ranchers across all levels - provincial, national, and international.

Our members play a pivotal role in conservation, habitat restoration, and the promotion of the wildlife economy. Through advocacy, education, and empowerment, we strive to ensure that wildlife ranching contributes positively to ecological preservation and economic development.

Citations

1. Lapointe, E. et al. (2025) ‘Conservation is not this “morality play”’, Shooting Times & Country Magazine.

2. Lindsey, P.A., Roulet, P.A. and Romanach, S.S. (2007) ‘Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa’, Biological Conservation, 134(4), pp. 455–469.

3. ‘t Sas-Rolfes, M., Emslie, R., Adcock, K. and Knight, M. (2022) ‘Legal hunting for conservation of highly threatened species: The case of African rhinos’, Conservation Letters, 15(4), e12877.

4. van der Merwe, P. and Saayman, A. (2025) ‘Assessing the contributions of hunting tourism to the South African economy: a post-covid analysis’, Wildlife Research, 52.

5. York, B. (2024) ‘Saving Endangered Wildlife Through Responsible Hunting’, 2024 WRSA Journal, pp. 54-63

6. York, R. (2024) ‘HUNTING – A Vital Conservation Tool for Wildlife in South Africa’, 2024 WRSA Journal, pp. 46-53