Protecting the Big Five By: Jessica Boeve

South Africa is well known for its safaris and big game reserves.[1] Among all the countries in Africa, South Africa is the most reliable for Big 5 sightings.[2] The term “Big 5” is used to refer to lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and the African buffalo.[3] Big 5 was originally coined because these five animal groups are the hardest and most dangerous to hunt.[4] Now the term is used as more of a checklist for safari goers hoping to see these animals within the wildlife preserves.[5] In 2023 alone, the South African safari tourism market was roughly 11.7 billion USD.[6] Not all the tourism is simply about seeing the Big Five.[7] Recreational hunting, including by foreign nationals, is legal in every province of South Africa.[8] Each province has its own authority over wildlife and nature conservation within the province and maintains different conservation ordinances that supersede the national government in authority.[9] There are some national regulations that apply to all provinces which include, but are not limited to, that all international hunters must be accompanied by a “registered [national] professional hunter” and licensed to hunt by a licensed outfitter.[10]  Another national standard across all provinces in South Africa is that hunting must be done during daylight hours, unless the hunting is of a nocturnal species which requires a special exemption permit.[11] Despite rising concern, hunting of all Big 5 animals has been and remains legal in South Africa since the 1980s.[12]

South Africa is the number one big game hunting destination in the world.[13] Conservation efforts have been effective in setting hunting quotas and creating protective reserves for the Big Five, however illegal poaching and environmental concerns threaten each of the Big Five species in differing degrees.[14] Lions, the “Kings of the Jungle,” are often sought after by trophy hunters and the species is threatened by both illegal poaching and the intensifying destruction of natural habitats across South Africa.[15] Rhinos have reached the status of “critically endangered” due to the illegal trade of rhino horns and up to ten thousand elephants are illegally killed each year for their tusks and meat, with China being one of the biggest “illegal consumers.”[16] Leopards are illegally hunted and traded for their fur, claws, and whiskers and while the African Buffalo is least threatened of the Big 5, habitat destruction is a huge concern for the survival of the all five species.[17]

The difficulty in aggressively protecting the Big 5 can be traced all the way back to the exclusion of wild animals from The Animal Protection Act of 1962.[18] The Animal Protection Act No. 71 of 1962  “prohibits animal cruelty on all domestic and wild animals in captivity or under the control of humans.”[19] In recent years, the South African legislation has rolled back many temporary protections that had been in place, including lifting the “moratorium” on the rhino horn trade within South Africa in 2017 that had been in place since 2009.[20] In May 2019, the South African government added thirty-three wild species to the list of animals that could be legally farmed, including cheetahs, giraffes, rhinos, zebras, and lions.[21] “Canned hunting,” where the wild animals are caged in small areas to remove the ability for the animal to escape, is also growing in popularity with foreign national tourists, although the South African government has officially “expressed its disapproval” of this type of hunting within South Africa.[22]

 Luckily for the Big 5, sustainability and conservation has become a “key consideration” for many tourists looking to safari in South Africa.[23] Searches for ‘sustainable safari’ has increased globally by 16,033% since 2019.[24] Social pressures on both the global and national stage has forced the South African government to be more proactive in the protections of the Big 5.[25] For example, following the killing of Cecil the Lion in Zimbabwe, the South African government placed a temporary ban on hunting any of the Big 5 within the country.[26] Given the growing disapproval globally and nationally of Big 5 game hunting, the government has continued to raise the “price tag” for hunting each of the animals to discourage rampant game hunting.[27]

The South African government has implemented many additional policies and incentives to shift the responsibility of preservation to the private sector and encourage “eco-friendly lodges and wildlife conservation projects.”[28] The conundrum facing the government and many communities within South Africa is that the revenue that is generated by licensed and regulated safari hunting is the “single most important source of funding for conservation and anti-poaching efforts in Africa.”[29] International laws are also having significant effect on the hunting industry within South Africa, bypassing local government control.[30] For example, multiple states within the United States have passed legislation banning the “importation and possession” of many, if not all, of the Big 5 including “parts or products” of the animals.[31] A UK bill was passed in 2023 that banned the import of hunting trophies into the UK.[32] While many believe that these types of importation bans will be effective in progressing sustainability and conservation of the Big 5, proponents of the bills argue that they will operate to “deprive African nations of the resources needed to mount effective anti-poaching and conservation efforts that are primarily funded by the harvest of a small number of the animals.”[33]

With the lack of strict governance offered by the South African government in the form of mandated law and policy, efforts and awareness of the need for sustainability and conservation are often left to grassroots efforts and nonprofits.[34] Regardless of the side one may fall in opinion, it is understood that the need for conservation, sustainability, and protections is essential for the survival of the Big 5 and biodiversity within South Africa.[35] The only question is whether the government will be proactive or wait until its hand is forced.

[1] Big 5 Safari Destinations, go2africa, https://www.go2africa.com/holiday-types/big-5-safari/where-to-go#:~:text=Long%20a%20stronghold%20of%20the,a%20famous%20Big%205%20hotspot (last visited Sept. 13, 2024).

[2] Id.  

[3] What are the Famous African Big 5?, Pod Volunteer (Aug. 9, 2022), https://www.podvolunteer.org/blog/what-are-the-african-big-5?gad_source=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjwurS3BhCGARIsADdUH52wRRj1Tq4tro3e67QfMyc5Rhnyb3qLiylu3_NdzySRHouDxyZx1CkaApwQEALw_wcB.

[4] Id.

[5] Id.

[6] Southern Africa Safari Tourism Market Trends, Grand View Research, https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/southern-africa-safari-tourism-market-report (last visited Sept. 20, 2024).

[7] Id.

[8] Peter Ruddle, Hunting in South Africa: What You Need to Know. Part 2, Book Your Hunt (Dec. 19, 2023), https://blog.bookyourhunt.com/hunting-in-south-africa-what-you-need-to-know-part-2/#:~:text=Hunting%20Laws%20and%20Regulations%20in,wildlife%20than%20the%20national%20government.

[9] Id.

[10] Id.

[11] Id.

[12] South Africa Places Ban on ‘Big 5’ Hunting, Africanews (Aug. 13, 2024), https://www.africanews.com/2016/03/13/south-africa-places-ban-on-big-5-hunting//#:~:text=The%20South%20African%20government%20has,from%20this%20season%2C%20they%20announced.

[13] From Targets to Tourist Attractions: Understanding and Protecting the Big Five in South Africa, GoEco, https://www.goeco.org/article/understand-the-big-five-in-south-africa#:~:text=South%20Africa%20is%20the%20biggest,banned%20leopard%20hunting%20in%202016 (last visited Sept. 20, 2024).

[14] The Big 5 & Other Endangered Animals You Can Help, Volunteering Journeys (Nov. 20, 2021), https://volunteeringjourneys.com/the-big-5-other-endangered-animals-you-can-help/#:~:text=Although%20poaching%20and%20environmental%20pressures,Buffalo%20are%20the%20least%20threatened.

[15] Id.

[16] Id.

[17] Id.

[18] South Africa, Animal Protection Index, https://api.worldanimalprotection.org/country/south-africa (last visited Sept. 20, 2024).

[19] Id.

[20] Id.

[21] Id.

[22] Id.

[23] Our Annual African Safari Travel Report – 2022, go2africa, https://www.go2africa.com/african-travel-blog/annual-african-safari-travel-report-2022 (last visited Sept. 20, 2024).

[24] Id.

[25] See generally South Africa Places Ban on ‘Big 5’ Hunting, supra note 12.

[26] South Africa Places Ban on ‘Big 5’ Hunting, supra note 12.

[27] From Targets to Tourist Attractions, supra note 13.

[28]  Market Trends, supra note 6.

[29] “Big 5” Trophy Importation Bans, Congressional Sportsmen, https://congressionalsportsmen.org/policy/big-5-trophy-importation-bans/ (last visited Sept. 20, 2024).

[30] Id.

[31] Id.

[32] Id.

[33] Id.

[34] Big 5 Wildlife Conservation in South Africa – Action Change, Environmental Conservation, https://actionchange.org/project/saving-african-wildlife/ (last visited Sept. 20, 2024).

[35] Id.