WRSA

South Africa’s tourism sector has surpassed pre-pandemic performance, with more than 10 million international visitors recorded in 2025. WRSA says this is good news for wildlife ranchers.

Foot-and-Mouth Disease (FMD) has become a major animal health crisis in South Africa. In the last year, the outbreak of this disease has spread across multiple provinces throughout the country. These outbreaks have caused many farmers to stress about their wildlife, livestock, and what the future might look like for their farming operations.

The current FMD outbreak poses a serious threat to game ranching, especially the disease-free buffalo sector. South Africa has 3,225 registered disease-free buffalo ranches, of which 51% are in the Limpopo Province, supporting over 75,000 buffalo worth around R16 billion.