Bridging the gap: The conservation and commerce of the African Buffalo

Long ago, when the world was young, the African Buffalo had no horns.

A proud and noble creature, the African Buffalo was known for its strength and courage. However, it lived among many animals, like the kudu and the eland, who had horns and he envied them. One day, the buffalo approached the great creator, Qamata, and pleaded for horns. Qamata, moved by the earnestness of the buffalo’s pleas, granted the wish with one condition: The buffalo must sacrifice something in return.

Determined to get horns, the buffalo offered to sacrifice his own flesh and blood. Qamata accepted this offer, and, with a mighty clap of thunder, he fashioned two magnificent horns for the buffalo. From that day onward, the buffalo proudly bore his horns as a symbol of his courage, sacrifice, and connection to the divine.

This traditional myth, told among the Xhosa people of South Africa, paints a vivid image of the buffalo and its most discernible trait. Perhaps also of its temperament as it bears a permanent scowl when looking straight at you, a look that almost suggests that you owe him money, and payment is past due …

Even though this myth is unrelated to the modern reality of the African Buffalo, or the Cape buffalo as they are also known, it bears a striking simile of the balance between conservation and commerce hinged on those same horns for which the buffalo pleaded so earnestly.

Background

Historically, before the eighteenth century, buffalo was abundant across the African continent and the African people had hunted the buffalo for meat and hides before the introduction of domestic cattle. Unfortunately, with the arrival of European colonialism in Africa commencing in Kenia and their more efficient hunting equipment, the use of buffalo became less sustainable. Over time since then, the increase in human numbers and its associated agricultural encroachment further reduced the buffalo’s natural habitat and numbers.

Commercial cattle – that is cattle that is specifically managed for meat and dairy production – was introduced during the colonial period for agricultural development, livestock improvement, trade, and food production supplemental to the endemic Nguni. Along with the cattle came diseases exotic to the region such as bovine tuberculosis, brucellosis, and the Rinderpest epidemic of the 1900s; diseases to which buffalo are susceptible. On the other hand, buffalo are symptomless carriers of diseases endemic to the region that are often deadly for cattle such as theileriosis (East Coast Fever, January disease and/or Corridor Disease) and Foot and Mouth Disease

As awareness of the conservation value of the iconic buffalo increased, along with the value of wildlife conservation for biodiversity, landowners began to explore sustainable land uses that incorporated wildlife. As one of the ‘Big Five’ of Africa – along with the elephant, rhinoceros, lion, and leopard – buffalo became an attractive feature of the new private game reserves and ranches that followed this shift in awareness. However, the bovine diseases pose a dire threat to commercial cattle herds and along with that, a significant economical and food security risk. To mitigate this risk, a set of very strict control methods were developed to prevent the spread of disease from buffalo to cattle, and vice versa.

Intense regulation

For this reason, buffalo are the most regulated species in South Africa, and private game ranches must be registered as a buffalo ranch with the National Director of Animal Health. As part of the application details such as disease status, ranch location and size, certificate of adequate enclosure (game-proof fencing), management objectives and intended activities (hunting, breeding, and/or ecotourism) must be noted. A State Veterinarian will consider each application on merit, and if approved, issue the game ranch with a Wildlife Ranching permit number (WR-number or the newer BU number) before any buffalo may be moved onto the property.

Before translocating buffalo, extensive disease testing is needed in order to be granted a movement permit which is required for the movement of all live buffalo in South Africa. As the African Buffalo population on private game ranches are predominantly disease free (as opposed to free-roaming buffalo in, for example, the Kruger National Park) the receiving game ranch must also have a similar disease status to the origin ranch.

Magnificent horns

The challenging but necessary movement of buffalo is done for a variety of reasons, but mainly buffalo are moved for either breeding or hunting purposes. The breeding and hunting of buffalo are deeply intertwined as buffalo breeders select for long-horned bulls and larger cows. The price of a trophy bull is directly related to the horn-length of the buffalo, and hunters will pay a premium to hunt an exceptional trophy of this highly sought-after species.

According to a recent survey study done by Tourism Research in Economics and Society (TREES), the income generated by respondents to the study who have participated in buffalo hunts in the 2022/23 are significant. According to the survey, of the 1 864 respondents, local hunters hunted 53 buffalo, and spent on average R58 329,27 per buffalo hunted, accounting towards a total spend on buffalo hunting of R3 091 451,00 which includes accommodation, transport, food, beverages, meat processing, and hunting permits. International hunters responding to the same survey, and with the favourable exchange rates on their side, hunted 167 buffalo and spent R159 262,77 per buffalo hunted, accounting towards a total spend of R26 596 882,00 during the same period of 2022/23. This contributed significantly to the socio-economic benefit of wildlife tourism, but also to the conservation of other species funded by these trophy hunts.

And while these figures do not represent the total number of buffalo hunted during the 2022/23 period, it hardly supports the narrative of the “wholesale slaughter” of African wildlife, one also needs to dispel another common misconception regarding trophy hunting: Responsible, ethical private buffalo ranchers in South Africa, do not hunt their top bull while it is in its prime and fertile. This is also a careful balancing act as breeding buffalo in the limited disease-free population must be meticulously managed to maintain healthy genetics and prevent inbreeding. This may mean that a bull needs to be moved every 4 years to prevent direct inbreeding.

Bottleneck

As mentioned before, prior to the legal movement of buffalo, extensive testing is needed prior to a permit being granted to translocate the animals. The testing and movement process requires two veterinarians to be present, a clinical veterinarian to immobilize the animal and ensure its welfare, and a second government veterinarian to perform the required identification, testing, official supervision and issuing of movement permits.

While the state veterinarians in most provinces can perform these duties admirably, in some provinces with higher buffalo populations, considerable resource-limitations led to bottle necks in the system and unacceptable delays. As most buffalo ranches, more than 50%, are in the Limpopo, the legal requirements and high demand placed considerable pressure on the state veterinary support structures. This in turn led to considerable frustrations as it caused delays in the ranch registrations and the inability or delay of state veterinarians to attend buffalo testing as and when required.

To assist the state and address these challenges, an independent private company, The Buffalo Company has been created to provide a parallel system, where private veterinarians can be authorized to work under a mandate from the Department of Agriculture, Land Reform, and Rural Development (DALRRD) to perform the state functions within the scope of buffalo testing and movement. This programme will be rolled out in two phases; one as a pilot phase in the Limpopo province and a second phase, on written approval from DALRRD from the Provincial Directors of the pilot phase, to roll out to the project to other provinces.

Safeguarding the future

The myth of the buffalo’s transformation of a hornless animal into the magnificent animal we know today by balancing gain versus sacrifice, may well serve as a metaphor for the modern-world balance required to ensure the conservation of not only the buffalo, but all species whose conservation are funded from the economic benefit of buffalo ranching. By facing challenges head on and embracing innovation while supporting necessary regulation, we can bridge the gap between conservation and commerce.