Ranchers in South Africa are breeding "mutant" animals with exotic colours and longer horns to attract wealthy hunters who are willing to pay a premium to kill them.
This is part of "the latest craze in South Africa's $1bn high-end big-game hunting industry", reports Bloomberg.
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
"We breed them because they’re different," said rancher Barry York. "There'll always be a premium paid for highly adapted, unique, rare animals."
Africa Hunt Lodge, a company based in the US, offers rich hunters package tours to South Africa, where they are charged up to $30,000 to kill a white lion and $49,500 for a golden gnu.
York argues that, while profit making is the main aim of his ranch, "conservation is a by-product of what I do". Breeders argue that the number of wild animals in South Africa has increased alongside the popularity of hunting big game. Ironically, private hunting ranches were credited with saving the rhinoceros from extinction in the 1960s.
But critics of genetic breeding are unconvinced. "What's happening now is farming. It's not conservation," said Ainsley Hay, manager of the Wildlife Protection Unit of South Africa’s National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals.
"A white springbok will not contribute to the springbok population because it’s a mutant," she said. Animals with these recessive genes have extremely low survival rates in the wild, as they are easier for predators to spot and often develop skin diseases and cancers.
Animal rights campaigners have found unlikely allies in local hunters, who are also opposed to the practice. The South African Hunters and Game Conservation Association has called on the government to regulate such breeding as it interferes with natural selection and pushes up the price of hunting.
"The animals are Frankenstein freaks of nature," says Peter Flack, a hunter and conservationist. "This has nothing to do with conservation and everything to do with profit."
-
Denmark’s record-setting arms purchase raises eyebrows and anxietyIN THE SPOTLIGHT By eschewing American-made munitions for their European counterparts, the Danish government is bracing for Russian antagonism and sending a message to the West
-
Is hate speech still protected speech?Talking Points Pam Bondi’s threat to target hate speech raises concerns
-
‘Mental health care is health care’Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
-
China is silently expanding its influence in American citiesUnder the Radar New York City and San Francisco, among others, have reportedly been targeted
-
How China uses 'dark fleets' to circumvent trade sanctionsThe Explainer The fleets are used to smuggle goods like oil and fish
-
One year after mass protests, why are Kenyans taking to the streets again?today's big question More than 60 protesters died during demonstrations in 2024
-
What happens if tensions between India and Pakistan boil over?TODAY'S BIG QUESTION As the two nuclear-armed neighbors rattle their sabers in the wake of a terrorist attack on the contested Kashmir region, experts worry that the worst might be yet to come
-
Why Russia removed the Taliban's terrorist designationThe Explainer Russia had designated the Taliban as a terrorist group over 20 years ago
-
Inside the Israel-Turkey geopolitical dance across SyriaTHE EXPLAINER As Syria struggles in the wake of the Assad regime's collapse, its neighbors are carefully coordinating to avoid potential military confrontations
-
Kill the Boer: Elon Musk and the anti-apartheid songUnder the radar Billionaire reignites controversy by linking South African 'struggle song' to 'white genocide'
-
'Like a sound from hell': Serbia and sonic weaponsThe Explainer Half a million people sign petition alleging Serbian police used an illegal 'sound cannon' to disrupt anti-government protests
