The Economic Impact of Hunting in South Africa

The Economic Impact of Hunting in South Africa

This technical note reviews and critiques a recent study by van der Merwe and Saayman (2025) on the economic significance of hunting tourism in South Africa. The original study estimates that hunting tourism contributes around $888 million USD annually in direct spending, and that the broader economic impact—once multiplier effects are considered—reaches $2.5 billion USD per year. The authors argue that hunting reduces poverty and inequality, creates low-skill jobs, and supports biodiversity conservation.

The review highlights several methodological weaknesses that cast doubt on these conclusions. Survey data used to calculate average spending relied on convenience sampling through hunting associations, which introduces bias and risks overestimation. Furthermore, the number of national hunters assumed in the study (200,000) is not well-substantiated, yet their spending accounts for the majority of the reported economic contribution. The lack of statistical measures such as variability or standard deviation also undermines the reliability of the spending data.

In addition, the study applies multipliers from a Social Accounting Matrix (SAM) that does not separately identify hunting from general agriculture. This raises concerns that the multiplier effects may not accurately represent hunting-specific impacts, leading to possible exaggeration of results. The interpretation of total economic impact as equivalent to total loss if hunting were banned is also problematic. In practice, resources such as land, labour, and infrastructure could be redirected into alternative activities like ecotourism, livestock, or agroecological farming, mitigating much of the claimed loss.

The review also challenges claims about poverty reduction and conservation. The estimated distribution of income gains is heavily skewed, with more than half accruing to high-income groups and only a small share reaching low-income households. Similarly, job creation is concentrated in low-skill, low-wage roles that do little to improve long-term development outcomes. The conservation benefits of hunting tourism are asserted but not demonstrated, and alternative land uses could also contribute positively to biodiversity protection.In conclusion, the study’s estimates of economic impact appear overstated due to sampling bias, questionable assumptions, and the use of aggregated multipliers. Its framing of hunting’s economic role as irreplaceable ignores the adaptability of resources and the potential of alternative land uses. A more realistic assessment would compare hunting with other economic and conservation options, rather than assuming its absence equates to total economic loss.

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This technical report is a critical review of a recent peer-reviewed paper “Assessing the contributions of hunting tourism to the South African economy: a post-covid analysis”, by van der Merwe and Saayman (2025). This report is divided in five sections. First, we summarise the paper’s approach and mai findings. Second, we examine the theoretical approach and describe the particular interpretation this paper makes of that approach. In a third section, we examine in detail the methodology of impact assessment and how the estimates of impact are constructed. Section four discusses the authors’ claimed implications of their assessment. Finally, we present our conclusions. Francisco Aguayo is an economist at the Program fro Science, Technology, and Development at El Colegio de Mexico.