Bright lights and big game

Hoogenbomen, Lindleyspoort, North-West Province – Two huge LCD screens, framed by bright green LEDs blinking in sync with booming speakers filling the marquee with powerful sound, towered imposingly over the standing-room-only Piet du Toit Wildbedryf auction on Saturday, 15 February 2025. A massive, majestic buffalo bull appears on-screen, while in front of the auctioneer’s stage flame bursts reach up almost to the roof. The bull snorts, mock-charges the camera and shakes its formidable horns, holding the audience spellbound. Outside, a welcome drizzle continues, much to everyone’s delight.

When the music fades, the video makes room for a catalogue image boasting about the bull’s impressive stats, including his exceptional horn spread of 56 inches and an (unofficial) Safari Club International (SCI) world record measurement of 154 inches. In layperson terms, this simply means massive horns, bigger than any other buffalo ever measured. After some spirited bidding from many interested buyers, ace auctioneer Brandon Leer’s hammer falls on the winning bid of R22m. Magic, this prize bull’s given name, is sold at what some would incorrectly believe to be a fairy-tale figure. Eventually the auction reached a total turnover of R82m, announcing that things are back to normal in the wildlife industry after a deep recession over the Covid period.

Earlier in the day, Piet du Toit opened proceedings by inviting Minister of Agriculture John Steenhuisen to the stage. Steenhuisen, in turn, remarked that it’s not every day that he addresses an auction room full of farmers with Julius Malema in the audience. That’s true. Steenhuisen on stage, Malema in the VIP section at the back of the marquee and a room full of wildlife farmers and enthusiasts, all against the backdrop of Donald Trump’s controversial remarks on land expropriation. What a country we live in, right?

The biennial Piet du Toit auction is a prominent indicator of the health of the high value stud breeding sector of the wildlife industry. Piet and his select group of guest sellers usually offer the best possible wildlife breeding genetics to the market and this year they again outdid themselves. “Piet’s auction stands out because he and his elite guest sellers offer only the finest animals and genetics,” enthuses JP Smith, chief operating officer of Wildswinkel Veilings, the auction house responsible for managing the auction’s buying and selling platform. “Informed breeders know that when they buy on this auction, their own herds will benefit from an injection of super genetics for long-term improvement, irrespective of the species bought.”

A wide range of prominent breeders share this sentiment. Richard Morton from prominent breeder Tembani Wildlife reflects: “It focuses on high-end stud animals, showcasing top specimens from each species. Prices are naturally higher as these animals exhibit superior traits such as longer horns, better colouring and stronger builds. This is why demand is so high. Breeders want to continuously improve their own herds by injecting new genetics of quality.”

Smith warns against simply using total auction turnover as an indicator of success: “To provide a practically useful indication of the health of the wildlife breeding sector, we remove outliers to calculate average lot prices across all species offered. Excluding the record-breaking buffalo and a few other top-tier animals, the average lot price across species was around R400 000. This means the equilibrium where supply and demand met is indicative of a healthy, positive, stable and mature market. The two previous eras of first, unrealistic prices driven somewhat by speculation and the second, Covid-induced recession, seem to have now made way for a new stage of sustainability and realistic growth, driven by super quality genetics and high hunting industry demand.”

Piet du Toit says his auction proves the wildlife industry is no longer in a so-called artificial state. “We now operate in a mature industry,” he explains. “The positive demand from our end-consumer, which is the hunting industry that includes the trophy and biltong sectors, as well as all the associated industries of accommodation, transportation, taxidermy, etc, is strong and growing. I’ve recently spoken to 30 or more of our biggest hunting operators who mostly concentrate on the overseas hunting market. They all expect a fantastic year. Most are fully booked for 2025.

“This core demand filters through to the quality breeding sector, as commercial and stud wildlife farmers are all keen to improve their own herds. Prices for regular animals on auction across species are now at sustainable, stable levels that make it economically viable to purchase and sell animals that deliver enough income for a viable wildlife business.”

Du Toit says he spoke to South African President Cyril Ramaphosa the day before the auction, en route to Ethiopia. He mentioned to the president that John Steenhuisen was going to speak before the auction and says that the president remarked that Steenhuisen is “a very dedicated minister”. Du Toit agrees and says he appreciated that Steenhuisen acted in his capacity as minister of agriculture and not as a politician. “To me dedication means that he fights for agriculture. He reassured us that the wildlife industry is an important part of specifically the agricultural sector. After his short but impactful speech, there was a great vibe amongst the audience. It reinforced our sense of purpose and the wildlife industry’s crucial role in the country’s economy.”

Pieter Ernst Jnr from the Bona Bona wildlife and hunting group says he agrees that the strong demand from the hunting industry is driving a sustainable future for the wildlife sector in general. “Diversification is key for us. That is why we have a breeding and hunting operation, like many of our peers. We try to make sure we can run a profitable business based on real demand. In our hunting business this translates into financial management based on local prices. We base our operations on the value that hunters place on a trophy.

“I expect hunting buffalo prices to follow the trend seen with sables. These prices should therefore drop from current trends of about R200 000 to R180 000 or so. Naturally, as demand outstrips supply again in future, we’ll see market forces come in to play and hunting buffalo prices will trend upwards again. This is the normal market at work, which supports my belief that we’re in a positive, sustainable phase in the wildlife industry.”

Veteran farmer Jacques Malan from Lumarie outside Bela-Bela is enthusiastic about the stud wildlife sector’s success in breeding ever better-quality animals. “Over time, our wildlife sector, like the cattle or sheep sectors, has steadily improved the quality of male and female animals for all species. Using the best of the best for stud breeding has ensured that horn lengths, for instance, have grown from, to use sables as a great example, about 44 inches for top animals to 50 inches or more. Currently there are three sable bulls that measure above 60 inches. This phenomenal increase in quality has made our wildlife industry a standout success. We’re all extremely proud of it and will continue to do our best to improve further.”

According to Wildswinkel’s Smith, wildlife’s contribution to the overall agricultural sector was R17bn in 2023, based on the latest available figures from Stats SA. “This accounts for 10% of agriculture’s total contribution across the value chain. It highlights the significant role our farmers and related businesses play in the sector and the country’s GDP. This year could be even better due to the expected growth in overseas hunters visiting us, as well as a healthy, stable, positive breeding sector,” he says.

The recent Piet du Toit auction underscores a dynamic resurgence in the wildlife industry. With its focus on premium genetics, a matured market and an enthusiastic response from important stakeholders, the industry is poised for a period of sustainable growth. The event not only highlighted impressive wildlife breeding capabilities and success but also reaffirmed the essential role of the wildlife sector within the wider agricultural economy.