Neelam Rahim / neelam@radioislam.co.za

2-minute read
12 February 2023 / 21:32 CAT

Image: African Wildlife

Wildlife is one of Africa’s main tourist attractions. However, the industry has faced challenges like poaching, illicit trade and food scarcity. This has, in turn, threatened the continent. A quarter of the world’s mammals and about a fifth of the bird species are in Africa.

Speaking at Radio Islam International, Professor of Veterinary Science at the University of Pretoria, Adrian Toffie, gives us an insight into wildlife conservation in Africa in terms of trends, opportunities and challenges.

Prof Tordiffe said the African continent needs to be faster to develop agriculture which has been a tremendous advantage to most of the wildlife and a reason why Africa still has a diverse level of wildlife.

However, according to Prof Tordiffe, Africa is one of the poorest continents. People who are starving started to poach animals as well the start of trade.

“Anybody without an income can very quickly earn some much needed money by poaching or assisting export,” he added.

Many African populations are declining, while the protected areas need to be better funded by governments.

Meanwhile, eco-tourism is becoming a lot more stable in certain countries.

“There is some very good success stories in South Africa. The Cheetah has benefit from many small reserves that have been converted from kettle farms into wildlife reserves. The numbers have stabalised, increased and now we at the point of moving animals from here to India,” Prof Tordiffe says.