In this workshop near Pretoria, workers are busy cutting up antelope heads, bleaching buffalo bones, softening zebra skins. But a British bill to ban the import of hunting trophies casts serious doubt on their future. Trophy hunting, practiced in particular in South Africa and consisting of wealthy amateurs sometimes paying several thousand dollars to kill lions or elephants and leave with the animal’s head, skin, claws or horns, is controversial. .
British MPs adopted a bill in March banning the entry of these trophies into the country. A victory for some conservationists who cried cruelty to animals. But a double-edged decision for others, worried about the loss of income generated by this luxury sport which partly financed the preservation of wild species.
Pieter Swart, 58, blue shirt and small gray beard, fears that his business of tanning and stuffing animals is a collateral victim of this bill supported by celebrities like the ex-model Kate Moss or the ex-footballer Gary Lineker, and which has yet to be passed by the Lords before coming into force. His obsession: that other countries follow the example. “The law could create a domino effect,” he told AFP, a zebra skull on his desk.
Similar bills are under consideration in Italy, Belgium and Spain, according to the animal protection organization Humane Society International (HSI). Britain’s bill, which includes thousands of species including lions, rhinos and elephants, reflects “the beginning of a change in attitude of countries” in Europe amid global wildlife decline, welcomes Matthew Schurch, Wildlife Specialist for HSI.
Skins, skulls, horns and bones
“Hunting an animal to hang on a wall is quite questionable,” said Keshvi Nair, spokesperson for the South African Animal Cruelty Prevention Council: “There are far more ethical and humane ways” of generating income.
Trophy hunting contributes more than $340 million per year (more than 310 million euros) to the South African economy and represents 17,000 jobs, according to a 2018 study. The loot brought back by hunters, mostly foreigners, are conditioned by taxidermists who perpetuate a centuries-old art. The sector employs 6,000 people in South Africa according to Swart, head of the National Taxidermy and Tannery Association.
In its workshops, thousands of carcasses are processed each year. Piles of skins, skulls, horns and bones are turned into rugs or decorative items. A large part of the materials come from organized fellings in the reserves, in particular to avoid overpopulation. The rest comes from hunting. “Hunting and killing are part of the animal management process. To waste a pelt like this and let it degrade would be heartbreaking” since the animal has already been killed, Swart says, pointing to a bust of a zebra nailed to the wall.
A whole stuffed rhino costs the equivalent of $6,800. A cheetah sells for around $1,400. “We’re going to see a huge chunk of our market come to a screeching halt,” worries Douglas Cockcroft, head of a 100-employee company, Splitting Image Taxidermy. And “if they ban this craft, I won’t be able to feed my family anymore,” says Elias Pedzisai, 45, a “magician” of animal skull bleaching in Mr. Swart’s workshop. Some South African taxidermists are already prospecting to find new outlets. “Breakthroughs have been made” with Chinese and Russian hunters who now come to South Africa more regularly, Swart said.
