While hunting is declining in South Africa, overall, lion hunting is on the rise, the latest figures from the Department of Environmental Affairs reveal.
According to information given by the Professional Hunters Association of SA, income generated from hunting decreased from R901-million in 2011 to R811-million in 2012.
While rhino hunting decreased from 137 hunts in 2011 to 52 last year - due to the stricter new conditions for hunting permits - the number of lion hunts rose from 445 in 2011 to 596 in 2012.
Rhino hunters spent R36-million in 2012, down from R84-million in 2011, but the revenue from lion hunts increased from R77-million in 2011 to R122-million last year.
American TV presenter Melissa Bachman unleashed a storm of controversy when she posted a picture of herself on Facebook smiling over the body of a lion she had killed in South Africa.
The association said the majority of hunters who came to South Africa were from the US, Denmark and Spain.
Bachman's post generated international outrage, and a petition on Change.org to ban her from coming to South Africa again has collected more than 345000 signatures.
The president of the SA Hunters and Game Conservation Association , Fred Camphor, said that hunting boosted conservation.
He said it contributed more than R9-billion a year to the economy, while 16million head of game existed on private farms - three times the amount found in national parks and reserves.
He said that animal lovers often "do not understand the delicate balance and responsibilities of conservation, or the reality of what pays, stays".
"Without hunters, South Africa would not be the world leader in conservation that it is today."
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