[Matatazela]

Hunters in SA pay a fee per animal. They also purchase the animal itself from the ranch. They pay for a guide, accommodation and their equipment, all of which make up a significant investment. The saying goes that hunting pays for conservation, because land that can generate income and still be managed as conservation land will be viable a lot longer than public lands that need vast amounts of funding. I think that the situation in the UK is slightly different, as few private landowners own very large areas of land with game populations large enough to harvest an economically viable percentage thereof.#</p>



An area of 800 hectares (approx. 2000 acres) is probably as small as one can go, but that is in a local context. I have no experience with the management of game in the UK context, so I may be off by miles here.</p>