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The spotlight was again on the game industry this week when a four-year-old sable antelope bull was sold for a staggering R27 million – a South African record.
It appears that such outlandish prices are part of a thriving industry, because the owner of a buffalo cow, which Deputy President Cyril Ramaphosa once unsuccessfully (and, some would say, infamously) bid R19.5 million for, expects to make a 100% return on that investment from three years ago.
Game breeder Jaco Troskie, who outbid Ramaphosa in 2012 on the cow, named Tanzania, said: “We got three calves out of her already; I think with the next one, definitely, I will be more than happy to say I will double my money on that cow ... it’s at least a 100% return on investment.”
Troskie, who paid R20 million for Tanzania, was confident that although none of Tanzania’s calves had yet been sold, it’s estimated they’ll fetch R4 million to R5 million each. Although the cow is already 12 years old, Troskie expects her to keep producing calves for at least another four to five seasons.
At the time of Tanzania’s auction, Ramaphosa was heavily criticised by then ANC Youth League leader Julius Malema for such an excessive display of wealth. Ramaphosa later apologised, saying it was “a mistake in the sea of poverty” to bid that much for a buffalo.
Although Ramaphosa lost out on Tanzania, he breeds a number of rare game at his Phala Phala game farm outside Bela-Bela, including buffalo, white and black impala, and golden wildebeest.
In 2013, he sold three white-flanked impala for R27.3 million. Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Ronnie Mamoepa, refused to comment, referring City Press to the game-breeding industry.
On Heritage Day, the sable antelope, called Mopanie, made history with its R27 million price tag. The previous record was set in 2012 when a sable bull called Charlie sold for R12.25 million.
Auctioneer Neil Swart of Vleissentraal Bosveld said there had been huge interest in Mopanie, a pure-bred Zambian sable with almost 122cm-long horns. He said bids went up in R1 million increments.
Barend Vorster, the breeder who eventually paid R27 million for Mopanie, said he hadn’t expected the prices to go so high.
“It was a bit of a shock for me as well,” he admitted, “but I was focused on that bull … it’s definitely an investment for us, and we hope to get a good return in the long run.”
Another bull, Deuce, sold for R21 million, while a new record was also set for a cross-breed when a bull called Zulu was sold for R17 million. The previous record for a cross was R5.8 million.
In total, 41 sable bulls were sold for a collective R137.7 million – all except one belonged to breeder Piet Warren, who is widely acknowledged as being the top sable breeder in the county.
Breeding rare, high-value game like Mopanie and Tanzania has become an intricate business – breeding partners have to be carefully selected to get the best return on investment, the animals are fed a special diet and are microchipped. Just the insurance alone on a single animal can be as much as R100 000 a month.
But sometimes breeders just get lucky. Piet du Toit bought Tanzania on auction for R2.6 million in 2011 from insurance mogul Douw Steyn.
A year later, he sold her for R20 million – a price that surprised even him. “I thought maybe [I’d get] R12 million,” Du Toit said with a chuckle.
Until recently, Du Toit owned the most expensive buffalo bull in South Africa, Horizon, which he bought in 2012 for R26 million. The price was topped when businessman Johann Rupert bought a buffalo called Mystery for R40 million in 2013.
It cost Du Toit R1 million to relocate Horizon to his farm, but he said the seven-year-old bull was priceless, and described him as “the blue blood of buffalo”.
With prices for rare game skyrocketing – the industry was estimated to be worth R10 billion in 2012 – some industry experts have questioned whether we are seeing a rare-game bubble in the market.
The prices, as well as the emergence of unusual colour variants such as golden gnus and black impala, have drawn the attention of the department of environmental affairs, which is considering whether the trade should be regulated.
Du Toit, however, predicts that while the prices of “colour variants” are likely to come down, the value of “classic” game, such as buffalo, rhino and sable, will continue to climb.
