# summary

- Link: https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/
- Published: 2026-02-24T11:54:18+02:00
- Author: dearSA

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[ have your say](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/#havasay)

The Department of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment (DFFE), under Minister
Aucamp, has published a notice of intention to set and allocate the 2026 and 2027
CITES export quotas for elephant, black rhinoceros, and leopard hunting trophies.

The proposed annual quotas for both 2026 and 2027 are as follows:

    - _Elephant:_ A quota of 300 tusks, derived from no more than 150 individual
      elephants. The DFFE states the national wild population is approximately 43,681
      and growing at 5.5% annually, making an offtake of 0.35% to 0.7% sustainable.
    - _Black Rhinoceros:_ A quota of 12 hunting trophies (allocated as 3 D.b. bicornis,
      8 D.b. minor, and 1 D.b. michaeli ). The DFFE notes this complies with CITES
      resolutions allowing an export of up to 0.5% of the population of each subspecies
      to incentivise habitat protection and remove surplus males.
    - _Leopard:_ A quota of 11 leopard hunting trophies. These are limited to 11
      specific designated zones across KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo, Mpumalanga, and the
      North West. Hunting is restricted to male leopards 7 years of age or older
      in areas with stable or increasing populations.

### _Concerns_

[Scientific Accuracy](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1738150189952-44103674-e29d31d9-c3be5520-25438f79-78e7)

Concerns regarding the accuracy of the population counts used to justify the quotas,
particularly for elusive, free-roaming species like leopards.

[Ethical Considerations](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1738150189975-5d0623dc-47dc31d9-c3be5520-25438f79-78e7)

Moral objections to the practice of trophy hunting, arguing that sentient, endangered,
or vulnerable animals should not be killed for sport.

[Economic Distribution](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1738150854013-bb98f5fb-7d0931d9-c3be5520-25438f79-78e7)

Questions about whether the revenue generated from high-value trophy hunts actually
reaches grassroots conservation efforts and local rural communities, or if it remains
largely with private outfitters.

[Genetic Impact](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1738151172108-10076802-4d0031d9-c3be5520-25438f79-78e7)

Concerns that targeting the largest or oldest males (e.g., large-tusked elephants
or dominant leopards) negatively impacts the gene pool and the social structures
of the remaining populations

[Tourism Impact](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1771927156762-16db9ff2-db15)

The potential reputational damage to South Africa’s broader eco-tourism and photographic
safari industry.

### _Questions and answers_

[What is the purpose of this public participation process?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1763554389233-fdb8fee6-6da45520-25438f79-78e7)

Minister Aucamp is required by law to consult the public before finalising the international
export quotas for these specific hunting trophies for the 2026 and 2027 calendar
years.

[Does this mean 300 elephants will be hunted each year?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1763554389265-aa09206a-77665520-25438f79-78e7)

No. The quota is for 300 tusks, which equates to a maximum of 150 individual elephants
per year.

[Are leopards not a vulnerable species?](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/#1763554389298-fbc55a3c-817c5520-25438f79-78e7)

Yes, the South African leopard population is classified as “Vulnerable” under the
IUCN Red List. The DFFE states the quota of 11 leopards is based on an adaptive 
management approach, restricting hunts only to males 7 years or older in specific
zones with stable or increasing populations.

The proposed quotas (Gov Gazette)

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Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora

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### _In the News_

    - News24 — [SA trophy hunting export quotas revived after four-year freeze](https://www.news24.com/business/climate-future/environment/pmsa-trophy-hunting-export-quotas-revived-after-four-year-freeze-20260206-0926)
    - WIO News — [South Africa to Permit Rhino, Elephant Hunts & Trophy Exports Again](https://www.wionews.com/videos/south-africa-to-permit-rhino-elephant-hunts-trophy-exports-again-1770469579653)
    - 2Oceans Vibe — [Leopards Quietly Make A Major Comeback On The West Coast](https://www.2oceansvibe.com/world/south-africa/leopards-quietly-make-a-major-comeback-on-the-west-coast-images/)
    - 2Oceans Vibe — [Big Changes Coming For Hunting Tourism In SA](https://www.2oceansvibe.com/world/south-africa/big-changes-coming-for-hunting-tourism-in-sa/)
    - The South African — [Elephant tusks back on the export list? SA proposes new hunting quotas](https://www.thesouthafrican.com/news/hunting-south-africa-trophy-hunting-exports-returns-new-proposals/)
    - Travel and Tour World — [Big Game Tourism of South Africa: New Hunting Quotas Proposed to Revive Forty-Four Billion Rand Industry](https://www.travelandtourworld.com/news/article/big-game-tourism-of-south-africa-new-hunting-quotas-proposed-to-revive-forty-four-billion-rand-industry/)
    - World Animal News — [Urgent: South Africa’s Draft Hunting Quotas Threaten Rhinos, Elephants & Leopards—Your Voice Is Needed!](https://worldanimalnews.com/2026/02/18/urgent-south-africas-new-hunting-quotas-threaten-elephants-rhinos-and-leopards-they-need-your-voice/)

**WION.** South Africa has announced plans to permit elephant and rhino hunts again,
reviving trophy export quotas and opening public consultation on black rhino hunting
permits. The move has sparked fresh debate over conservation, wildlife management,
and ethical hunting.

**Daily Bagel.** South Africa’s hunting export quotas are back on the table – weeks
after a ministerial reshuffle – reopening a fierce debate about conservation, politics,
and money.

### _Statements and media releases_

Click on a logo to view.

Want to display your organisation’s statement? [Click here. ](https://dearsouthafrica.co.za/hunting-export-quotas/summary/ quotas@dearsouthafrica.co.za?subject=org info for Hunting Export Quotas regulations info page)

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### Cape Independence Party

 **CAPEXIT Party strongly opposes the Business Licensing Bill in its entirety on
all points:**

**Preferential licensing**
 The Bill explicitly empowers the Minister to grant licences
on a “preferential” basis and to impose conditions that advance “historically disadvantaged
individuals” or other designated groups. This is nothing less than state-sanctioned
racial and ideological discrimination dressed up as transformation policy.

CAPEXIT rejects the notion that the state has any legitimate role in deciding which
racial or social group may or may not operate a business. Such preferential licensing
will:

    - Reintroduce apartheid-era economic controls under a new ideological banner;
    - Create a cronyist system where access to markets is determined by political
      connections and demographic criteria rather than merit, innovation or consumer
      demand;
    - Discourage both domestic and foreign investment, as investors will rightly
      fear that their businesses can be denied licences or subjected to arbitrary
      conditions on racial or political grounds.

No free society licenses businesses on the basis of the owner’s skin colour or historical
narrative. This clause alone renders the entire Bill unconstitutional and morally
indefensible.

**Principles of business licensing**
 The Bill fails to articulate any coherent,
objective, or proportionate principle for requiring a general business licence in
the first place. Instead, it presumes that every enterprise – from a street vendor
to a multinational corporation – must seek prior permission from the state simply
to exist and trade.

This reverses the fundamental principle of a free economy: citizens should be free
to engage in lawful economic activity without state permission unless there is a
clear, evidence-based justification (e.g. public health, safety or environmental
protection).

The Bill provides no such justification. It is a blanket assault on economic freedom,
reminiscent of the licence-permit raj that crippled India’s economy for decades.
Requiring a general “business licence” in addition to existing sector-specific permits(
liquor, health, zoning, etc.) serves no legitimate public purpose – only the purpose
of expanding state control and creating new opportunities for rent-seeking and corruption.

**Powers of inspectors**
 The Bill grants inspectors extraordinarily broad and invasive
powers, including warrantless entry into private premises, seizure of documents 
and goods, and the ability to close businesses on the spot. These powers are ripe
for abuse and will be weaponised against political opponents, non-compliant businesses,
and any entrepreneur who refuses to pay bribes.

In a country already plagued by corruption scandals, handing unelected officials
the power to enter and shut down businesses without judicial oversight is an open
invitation to extortion. Small businesses, spaza shops, and informal traders – many
of them immigrant-owned – will be particularly vulnerable to harassment and shakedowns.
Far from promoting transformation, this will simply create a new class of “licence
inspectors” who enrich themselves at the expense of the poor.

**More red tape**
 South Africa already ranks poorly on the World Bank’s Ease of
Doing Business index, largely because of regulatory overreach. This Bill adds yet
another layer of costly, time-consuming bureaucracy on top of SARS registration,
municipal permits, B-BBEE compliance, UIF, COIDA, sector SETA requirements, and 
dozens of other licences.

The compliance costs – application fees, mandatory consultations, endless paperwork,
and the risk of arbitrary refusal – will crush startups and force thousands of small
businesses to close or remain informal. Jobs will be lost, investment will flee,
and the tax base will shrink. The Western Cape, which has consistently outperformed
the rest of South Africa precisely because of lighter and more efficient regulation,
will see its competitive advantage deliberately sabotaged by Pretoria.

**Conclusion**
 The Business Licensing Bill is not reform – it is economic sabotage.
It centralises power in the hands of an already overreaching and underperforming
national government, reintroduces racial criteria into commerce, and erects new 
barriers to entrepreneurship at a time when South Africa desperately needs growth
and jobs.

CAPEXIT calls for the complete withdrawal of this Bill. The people of the Western
Cape, and indeed all South Africans who believe in freedom, will not accept a return
to a permit-based economy controlled by bureaucrats and political gatekeepers.

For a free, prosperous, and non-racial future, this Bill must be rejected in its
entirety.