KNP-SWOT

Ethical Issue
Kruger National Park is part of the SANParks organization. SANParks strategy is “to ensure
sustainability and responsible tourism growth, while enhancing our vision of connecting our
national parks to broader society.” 15 Kruger has connected globally by partnering with zoo's and
parks to provide Rhino. Kruger has also grown their tourism business, but not enough to offset
increased expenses. Competition has grown as well and is able to offer hunting packages that
lure visitors away from Kruger. Their strategy to ensure sustainability has been strained in recent
years due to government funding cuts. Kruger National Park has offset costs by selling Rhino at
a high price to private ranchers, creating their ethical dilemma. Previously when funding was
available, the park would sell off or trade Rhino and other animals to parks and zoos as a
necessary way of thinning the herd. 16
Because of the underfunding, Kruger National Park had
been overextended in debt and had to find a way to ensure sustainability.
This activity is in contrast to the park’s mission “To develop, manage and promote a system of
national parks that represents the biodiversity and heritage assets by applying best practice,
environmental justice, benefit sharing and sustainable use.” 15 The particular conflict here is with
environmental justice. Because the park cannot foresee the well-being of the animal’s future,
they therefore cannot ensure environmental justice. The park has many requirements of buyers
but cannot ensure the safety or outcome of the animals after one to two years. 16 It is unlawful for
poachers to kill Rhino but in essence, the park could be seen publically as bypassing this
constraint by selling the animal to those that may not have the animal's best interest at heart.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths

Kruger National Park has strength in that the population of black and white rhino has been
steadily climbing. Due to the increasing population numbers, the threat of extinctions has
decreased.
Kruger National Park also has many lodge offerings and safari expeditions to draw in tourism.
This tourism brings much needed revenue. This revenue helps the park to continue and expand
on its operations. As part of the safari expeditions, Kruger offers viewing of the Big-5 (elephant,
lion, leopard, rhino and buffalo), plus many more species native to Africa. This strength is
mirrored in several nearby parks, but Kruger offers overwhelmingly more area for safari
expedition to take place.
Weaknesses
Kruger National Park has been receiving progressively less outside funding which could affect
the operations. This fact has been a major contributing factor to the continued practice of selling
rhino in private sales.
Kruger National Park's competition offers hunting expeditions that bring in larger revenue than
the safari expeditions.
Another weakness of Kruger National Park and many parks in the country is the lack of
manpower and government oversight for poaching operations. This gives poachers the
opportunity to become a rampant threat to the herd located within the park and other parks like it.
Opportunities

Kruger National Park has opportunities to keep operations going by continuing their practice of
hunting and selling rhino to zoos, other parks and private ranchers. The revenue gained from
these sales has offset the steady decline of funding from government.
Kruger National Park also has more opportunities to increase lodging and safari expeditions in
relation to the vast size of the park. This step will increase revenue to the park and build on the
expansive amenities already offered to tourist.
Kruger National Park has opportunity to offer hunting expeditions in addition to safaris. This
opportunity would greatly offset the cost of hunting the Rhino for herd control.
Threats
Threats to Kruger National Park include being viewed as unethical by animal rights groups for
the selling practices currently employed by the park. Global publicity in the form of unethical
treatment of the rhino could significantly impact revenue by causing decreased demand for
lodging and safaris expeditions.
Another threat to Kruger National Park should it decide to stop the sale of rhinos to private
ranchers is that there would not be enough natural predators to keep the growing rhino herd's
population within the limits of the park.
Competition
Currently Kruger is a government run park that offers lodging, safaris and day passes. Due to a
breeding program started in 1962, the rhino population in Kruger has steadily increased to an
almost over-populated number, so it sells white rhinos to other parks, zoos and private ranches.
In 2009 500 rhinos were sold out of South Africa and 252 of those came from Kruger. Other

hinos were sold from private reserves and other SANparks locations. One of those private
reserves is Shamwari, which sold more rhinos in 2010 under protest from many groups.
Competition for lodging and safaris is also quite large. For example, even smaller privately
owned reserves offer many of the same amenities the Kruger does.
The Kariega Game Reserve and Park offers 4 luxury lodges with different amenities to each. It is
family owned and covers 35 sq miles. It offers regular ground safaris, to view the Big-5 plus
many other species that are common to the reserve and South Africa. It also offers river safaris to
view them from the two rivers it has running through it, and key birding areas and even walking
safaris in the safer areas of the reserve.
The park is relatively close to Port Elizabeth and only 10 minutes from the coastal village of
Kenton-on-Sea. The lodging starts at $268.62 per person, per night. This reserve has a 4-star
rating from www.tripadvisor.co.uk and is ranked #2 out of 4 in specialty lodging in the Kentonon-Sea
area.
Another reserve/safari vacation spot is Shamwari Game Reserve. It is also privately owned and
covers 96.5 square miles. It offers 6 different accommodations ranging from an Explorer’s Camp
to Luxury accommodations. Price range is $341.88 to $702.08 per person, per night.
This park is located fairly close to Kariega Game Reserve, but a little further inland, so it offers
more grassland views. It also offers the Big-5 safaris, bird watching, walking safaris, but does
not have the rivers to offer boat tours.
Global Issues
When assessing the global significance of Kruger National Park and the decision that it faces in
terms of how much to regulate the sales of rhino from its park, they must consider several factors

including the overall population of both white and black rhinos in terms of within the park and
outside of it, and how quickly it is increasing. They must also consider the funding that is gained
not only by the park but by South Africa through the sale of their rhinos, and how much of that
comes from sales to private game owners, and how much could be supplemented if they
eliminated sales during private auctions.
The rhino population in South Africa has steadily been increasing for both white and black since
2007 to where 500 were sold in 2009 including 252 directly by Kruger National Park. The park
wants to make sure that the integrity of the population is maintained but at the same time they
realize that rhinos are worth over $30,000 and their capture and sale can account for a substantial
amount of the parks funding. When selling their captured rhinos they want to try to limit their
distribution to private buyers that will ultimately use them for hunting businesses and increase
sales to zoos private viewing safaris. This positively affects the park's public image as being
humane in herd control.
Globally the park could continue to sell as they have and the rhino population would continue to
thrive in South Africa because the park largely does significant good for protecting and
regulating their numbers. The biggest global impact that would occur if the park decided to be
more stringent with its sales would be a possible increase in illegal poaching and a decrease in
tourism. It has to be considered that in terms of tourism income gained in South Africa, an
estimated 70% comes from hunting.
Largely the dilemma that Kruger National Park faces is ethical because there would be little
substantial global impact by continuing their rhino capture and sale practice in terms of effect to
the rhino population. Ultimately the economy of South Africa could suffer if they made efforts to
limit the sale of rhinos to hunting companies which could impact global trade and wellness.

Business Environment
There is basically an external and internal business environment. The internal environment
includes the man, material, money, machinery and management of the park. Taking a look at the
people involved in this business; there are many involved. Crafting & Executing Strategy states
the following people are involved in a sales transaction: Kruger game capture unit, private game
owners, ranchers/breeders, parks, private safari, hunting businesses and private parks. 18
According to Crafting & Executing Strategy; “a typical rhino hunt could cost $82,400 per hunter.
18 In 2009, South Africa generated an estimated $6.9 billion in revenues from tourist attractions;
of that amount, hunting accounted for about 70 percent, or about $4.8 billion.” The materials
used in the capturing of the rhinos were state of the art equipment. The equipment includes a
helicopter pilot, a veterinarian, an operational coordinator, a veterinary technician, five capture
staff personnel and two drivers for the translocation and crane trucks. The external environment
includes many factors that are beyond the control of the park. One major factor is the
government and legal factors involved. SANParks used the following clause to justify their
selling of the rhinos: “SANParks was guided in its decision to sell wildlife by Clause 55(2)(b) of
the Protected Areas Act No. 57 of 2003 (as amended), which stated that “ SANParks may, in
managing national parks, sell, exchange or donate any animal, plant, or other organism occurring
in a park, or purchase, exchange or otherwise acquire any indigenous species which it may
consider desirable to reintroduce into a specific park.”
Diversity Considerations
One of the drivers for unethical behavior in the park's dilemma is the need for self-preservation
due to loss of funding. SANParks had become to be known for its wildlife preservation,
conservation, and diversity; encompassing many species of trees, fish, amphibians, reptiles,

irds, and mammals throughout its parks. Its mission is “to develop, manage, and promote a
system of national parks that represent the biodiversity and heritage assets by applying best
practices, environmental justice, benefit sharing and sustainable use.” 10
To accomplish this mission and overcome the ethical dilemma and maintain sustainability of the
strategic vision of Krueger National Park it will have to consider the impact on the biodiversity
of the park’s species and the community around it. One definition of diversity is having or being
composed of differing elements or inclusion. 7 This definition is important to the park, as it lays
the foundation that the park will need to consider to combat the threat to the diverse species
located within its parks; not just the rhino species. The absence of natural predators to help
maintain an ecological balance has established a basis for increased annihilation of many species.
Some of the most known causes of extinction to a species are hunting, species introduction, and
habitat destruction. According to a study by the University of Michigan on Global Change, it
was noted that over-hunting is a crucial factor in the extinction of a species; both legal and
illegal. But an even greater threat is habitat destruction, whether through loss, degradation, or
fragmentation. 3 SANParks must carefully take into consideration the diversity of species and the
impact on the local community when establishing its fiscal budgets and strategic plans.
Possible Solutions
There are 4 main factors that contribute to the ethical dilemma of selling rhinos to private
rangers, that in-turn make them big game hunt specimens. These factors are: the park is
underfunded; there is competition in the area that offer hunting of animals, bad publicity because
of the sale of rhinos to game hunting ranches, and steady increase of rhino population with not
enough natural predators to thin the herd.

There are a couple of solutions for each of these factors. For being underfunded, Kruger could
offer hunting trips for people to go out and tranquilize the rhinos that Kruger is going to sell to
other parks and zoos. A major pro of this would be that it offsets the cost of the crew that goes
out to capture the animals plus bring in extra revenue. A huge con for this would be increased
liabilities for the safety of the hunters. The second solution would be to increase the daily fees.
With approx 4 million visitors a year, 15 just a $1.00 increase would equal an extra 4 million
dollars in revenue. A con to this would be a chance of decreased visitation due to the increased
cost.
The second factor, competition, also has a couple solutions. The first is as mentioned above,
selling hunting trips for people to tranquilize the rhinos that are to be captured and sold. Again,
the same pros and cons go along with this, along with another pro of taking some of the hunters
away from other parks. The second solution to competition is adding more lodging with luxury
amenities to lure some visitors away from the competition. The pros would be increased
availability and possible increased revenue, but a major con of this would be upfront cost to
expand and increase lodging.
Bad publicity is another contributing factor and its solutions are again, to offer tranquilizer hunts.
The pro to this is that it is a no-kill hunting trip with the animal only be tranquilized and captured
for sell to a non-hunting ranch or zoo. A con to this is that there are still groups that protest even
tranquilizer hunting. The second solution to bad publicity is cut-off all selling to private ranchers
even the ones that do not use them in hunts. The pro to this is that it would show everyone they
are committed to protecting the species, but a con to this is that they would lose that part of
revenue.

The fourth factor is that over the years the rhino population has steadily increased and could
possibly become too large for the park. The first solution again is to continue the sale of rhinos
and sell tranquilizer hunts. The pros to this are the revenue stream from both the sale of the hunt
and the sale of the rhinos, and it keeps the population in check. Cons to this are mentioned in
previous paragraphs. The second solution would be to introduce more natural predators into the
park to thin the herd. The pro to this is natural population control, but the cons to this is more
predators equal more danger to visitors and more predators would eat other types of animals and
possibly endanger their population in the reserve.
Recommended Solution
The recommended solution for Kruger National Park is to sell hunting safaris utilizing
tranquilizer methods to help capture rhinos and offset crew cost, while generating additional
revenue.
It has been substantiated that Kruger National Park is underfunded in maintaining sustainability
of its park’s operational expenditures. The financial contributions from SANParks have been
drastically declining over the years, and it is necessary to continue operations at a sustainable
level by finding alternative ways to increase revenue. The recommended solution to sell hunting
safaris that utilizes tranquilizers versus kill-hunt safaris is the best option among the available
possible solutions to increase revenue. Being underfunded is the most critical component of the
park’s operations. The projected revenue from the tranquilizer safari hunts can offset the labor
cost of the crew staff, plus bring in additional revenue. Human resource costs are typically the
largest expenditure in the organizational structure. According to a study on Market Valuation of
Intangible Resources: The use of strategic human capital, it relays that human capital is an
organization’s greatest asset and in reality its only asset. In order for an organization to maintain

its competitive advantage it’s necessary for strategic resources to have the capability to create
organizational efficiencies to help reduce cost. The study analysis the benefit and cost analysis of
human capital on an organization’s strategic objective. 1 Additionally, in a 2008 SANParks'
economic impact study, human resource cost was estimated at 52.2% of total expenditures. 10
The revenue generated would also have a direct impact on the domestic economy, as there will
be a potential for more international visitors to the local region. Another benefit of the
recommended solution would be the correlation to the other possible alternatives, such as
increased lodging accommodations. This recommendation would help counter the underfunded
financial backing from SANParks.
In Kruger’s competition there are many aspects that will boost their visitor’s ad revenue. The
suggested more safaris and increased lodging would help give Kruger a competitive edge over
the competition. The luxury accommodations and offering more frequent safaris would help
boost their revenue as well as please their visitors more. Kruger offers several different options
for lodging which are very reasonable in the area. The tranquilizer hunt would give the park a
positive public image, increase revenue, and it will help save the animals instead of killing them
as the poachers do. Also with the hunter paying for the tranquilizer hunt, this will also add
revenue back into the park.
The best way to positively affect Kruger’s public image is to incorporate tranquilizer hunts. By
offering tranquilizer hunts, the park will still be able to control the herd population, show that it
can be done in a humane way and offset cost the park would have to pay in an effort to control
herd populations by having patrons pay for the catch. Bad publicity from inhumane hunting
practices or selling of rhino’s to private ranchers could irreversibly deter national/international
visitors and further expand the financial difficulties of the park.

There has been a steady increase in the rhino population at Kruger National Parks. One of the
main reasons for this increase is because there are few natural predators to the rhinos within the
park. A solution to this problem would be to introduce more predators into the reserve to allow
for a natural ecosystem. This would decrease the amount of rhinos that would have to be sold or
transported to other parks. Another solution would be to offer tranquilizer hunts for visitors. This
would allow for a no kill hunt while increasing visitors and revenue to Kruger National Parks.
The rhinos are currently being tranquilized and moved to other locations or sold to private
ranchers; therefore creating tranquilizer hunts for visitors would bring a greater overall benefit to
the park.
The Plan
The average expense for a Rhino hunt is $84,200. The potential revenue from selling
tranquilizer hunts can directly offset this expense and ensure profitability. An Expense/Revenue
report will need to be made to determine the level of possible profitability.
Kruger will need to prepare the park for more visitors by improving roads and trails for
accessibility.
Kruger will need to training employees on practices and procedures necessary for tranquilizer
hunts.
Kruger will need to create opportunity to advertise new hunts and market the park positively.
This can be done by having a film crew on a hunting trip to showcase humane techniques.
Resources
More tranquilizers
More tranquilizer guns

More gates around park
At least one more vehicle
Adjust insurance
Increase marketing and advertising
Increase employees
Create training class for new/existing employees on safety in hunting
Create training class for visitors
Risks
Liability of more visitors and active hunters
Increased danger to hunt participants. For example: rhino charging
Overselling rhinos to parks and zoos leading to over-saturating the market/overwhelmed
rhino population due to lack of buyers and an increased potential for poaching
Tranquilizer hunts being unsuccessful or not profitable
Competition lowering prices to become more competitive

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