World Cup scares off hunters in South Africa

Hanging dry twigs, the dull murmur and are not the only noise that hunters stalk a herd of zebras in the thick bush of South Africa. A thunderbolt suddenly kills a standard: a dozen trophies in one week of installation with a U.S. sniper proud to take account of hunting opportunities in South Africa offered by the successful release abundant wildlife. But managers say the World Cup has driven the foreign customers in the busiest season of the industry, which coincides with the tournament a month. "One by one, they withdrew," said Arthur Rudman, owner of Blaauwkrantz Safaris, which is less than an hour's drive north of the World Cup host city of Port Elizabeth. "We fully support the World Cup. However, unfortunately, it has a negative impact on our hunting industry." An executive member of the Professional Hunters' Association of South Africa, Rudman said the gaming industry contributes annually between five and seven billion rand (up to 908 million dollars, 745 million euros) to the economy.
Hunts are usually booked in advance with the advance payments, but trips over the World Cup were canceled for reasons ranging from the congested airports, concerns over the transport of guns, housing costs and higher inflated airfares. Some operators have tried to attract football fans in the world with special packages Cup chase, as Rudman, whose family firm is offering a package of three nights for 6,800 rand for two trophies. But few have bitten. "Soccer fans are not students who are really hunters. We've had an interest, we have some hunters arrive, but it's not an avalanche," said Rudman. "We do not have the quantities that we should be in the middle of our hunting season is June and July. I think we will be down 30 percent overall for the year."
Customers postponed to 2011, but the shortcomings of this year come after the global recession which saw foreign bookings in 2009 will decrease by 20 percent. "At the end of the day, we could be in the region of 40-50 percent down on 2008 figures," says Rudman, who ran the hunt since 1978. Hunting is an important activity in several regions of South Africa is home to Africa's Big Five: lion, leopard, elephant, buffalo and rhino. "We also had many cancellations," said Werner van der Walt of Cheetau Safaris, an operator in the central region of the Free State where costs $ 35,000 for a large male lion trophy. "Our main activity is the lion hunt. It was very touched. It is about 18 lions that we lost, "he told AFP. "In financial terms, that alone would have been 2.2 million" rand revenue. The World Cup is expected to attract 300,000 visitors and boost the economy of South Africa of 0.5 percent, but Van der Walt's World Cup special - from playgrounds to five major packaging - have also tanked. "They do not want to come in the World Cup," said Van der Walt. "We've actually been thinking we were going to get busy. It was certainly a disappointment, but we will get through. " For professional hunters, hunts canceled or postponed also mean a loss of income. "The World Cup has had a very negative," said Philip Dixie, 41, a professional hunter to Blaauwkrantz after helping his client to be satisfied with the zebra stallion. "We have basically two months of no hunting. For me, a professional hunter, is a loss of income. This is serious for us. "