Without tourists, South African farmers cull antelope to feed community

NORTHERN SOUTH AFRICA, South Africa: The charity pick-up truck rolled into a rural South African township laden with the usual boxes of bread loaves and assorted vegetables — and an unusual and especially prized gift: more than 50 kilogrammes (110 pounds) of fresh venison. The antelope had been shot a few days prior by game farmers whose tourist lodges were shuttered at the start of an anti-coronavirus lockdown in March.

“I can´t remember the last time I bought meat,” township dweller Tebogo Mabunda exclaimed, clutching a bag of dark red venison cuts and a small sack of potatoes. Since the tourist industry came to a standstill, Mabunda has been unable to find the odd jobs in nearby lodges and spas that usually allow the town´s thousands of informal workers to scrape by. With four mouths to feed, the 40-year-old admitted she could now barely afford soap and maize flour, a staple in South Africa. “When I get a little bit of money I buy potatoes and tomatoes,” said single mother Sarah Baloyi, who lives in a corrugated iron shack with her toddler.

“But unfortunately I can´t even get that because there is no work. Faced with growing demands for food donations, local supermarket owner Piet* started processing culled wild animals in his butchery for those in need.

“Previously farmers donated excess potatoes to us,” he explained. “One day I went culling animals with a couple of farmers and thought: what will you do with it?”

Piet has since asked several lodges in the area to donate their animal carcasses to his store.