consumptive tourism
An annual estimate
of 250 000 tonnes of
game meat that are
commercially available
clearly indicate the
lucrative game meat
industry that has
developed.
No factual recorded data is available on local game
meat production because commercial use, as high as
90% of game meat on the market in South Africa, is
considered illegal. However, the truth is an annual
estimate of 250 000 tonnes of game meat that are
commercially available is based on a combination of
hunting statistics figures from SA Hunters (2016), statistics
from the Tshwane Health report on butchery processing
of game meat (220 butcheries well known for processing
game meat in the hunting season with an average
processing production of 30 000 kg per butchery),
coupled with unpublished information from accredited
laboratories’ results of meat sample analyses, taken at red
meat processors and food manufacturers utilising game
meat trimmings, offal and organs in processed products
(not labelled with game meat ingredient), clearly indicate
the lucrative game meat industry that has developed after
many decades of poor or no legal control by both the
Department of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and
the Department of Health.