TITLE: Understanding the emerging game meat value chain in South Africa. AUTHORS: M. Sommerville; S. Brooks; T. Kamuti; L. Khumalo. KEYWORDS: wild animals; game industry; consumption; South Africa.
Melanie Sommerville, PhD. Shirley Brooks, PhD. Tariro Kamuti, PhD. Lindokuhle Khumalo, PhD student.
The full title of this Guidance Memo is: Game On! Understanding the Emerging Game Meat Value Chain in South Africa.
It traces the efforts made by the South Africa game sector. It also explains the changes that lead to the challenges experienced by the sector and to an increase in game populations that needs to be dealt with. These reasons and changes are complex. They are related to and intersect with: Game breeding practices, farm conversions and new investment patterns, hunting norms, ecotourism, biodiversity loss, processed game products, and the emergence of community game farms through land reform.
An expanded game meat value chain raises serious concerns for socio-economic development and racial transformation, environmental sustainability, human health and animal welfare. And there are key gaps in the regulatory framework for game meat production. The report highlights these concerns and gaps. It provides six recommendations for front-line persons and policy makers who want to ensure that expansions in game meat production occur in an inclusive, sustainable, safe, and ethical manner.