The Covid-19 pandemic and associated lockdown continues to have a negative impact on the private wildlife industry in SA.
This is according to Prof Peet van der Merwe of the North West University’s Tourism Research in Economics, Environs and Society Unit (TREES), as reported by Farmer’s Weekly.
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He said research conducted by the unit indicated that these negative effects could linger for the next two to three years.
According to the research results recently published in the Global Ecology and Conservation journal, the industry lost R4.61-billion between March and May 2020 owing to cancellations.
A total of 1 754 wildlife and hunting establishments are registered with Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA).
On average, game farms registered with the WRSA recorded financial losses of R1.87-million per farm, while establishments in Limpopo and KZN lost more than R3-million on average.
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