GAME
It’s not a straightforward thing
W
hen driving round
the plots in
Gauteng one
occasionally notices that
some smallholders have
game, rather than livestock,
on their land. However, there
are a number of factors to be
considered before one invests
Grazing type, space and animal behavioural
characteristics all play a role in game-farming
... and make it unlikely that it is possible
to farm game legally on a smallholding
in wildlife on a smallholding.
Game animals are farmed for
the purposes of meat, skin
and horn off-take (trophies)
and tourist viewing.
They can also be kept
for breeding purposes.
Every species has
specific requirements
regarding the provi-
sion of refuge, feeding
and social activities by
the specific habitat. So
the question of
whether to keep game
should be accompa-
nied by a question as
to the nature of your
terrain: have you got
There are estimated to be 18,6 million head
dense bush, or
of game on more than 20 million ha of
agricultural land in SA (Grain SA)
savanna woodland,
sweet or less sweet grass,
rocky outcrops and undulat-
ing terrain, plains, marshlands
and drainage lines, or open
surface water? Each species
prefers its combination of
these habitats. And, is your
forage both adequate in terms
of the quality and quantity
and vegetation