Short and medium term net annual harvested animal production is compared for six areas situated in the semi?arid bushveld of north eastern Natal. The landuse on these areas was conservation, commercial game ranching and commercial cattle ranching. The objectives of each enterprise differed. Net production from the cattle enterprises, which was more than twice the regional average, exceeded production from the game ranches by a factor of three and that from the game reserves by a factor of six. Although production derived from browse in mixed systems could reach 20 percent, the absolute production was trivial when compared with production from cattle. It is concluded that maximum sustained yield from extensive game systems cannot compare with that of intensively managed cattle systems and for this reason game systems cannot be justified on the basis of long term meet production alone.
Journal articles from the Grassland Society of Southern Africa (GSSA) African Journal of Range and Forage Science as well as related articles and reports from throughout the southern African region.