The African continent is so productive it could have doubled the world's meat production today if there had been proper wildlife management over the last fifty years. But European man has brought the wild animals to the verge of extinction for the sake of his own unsuitable domestic animals, notably the cow. Today there are signs of change, with farmers looking to the ranching of wild animals, and national parks selling meat from animals that have to be culled. But time is short. The increasing human population is leading rapidly to the complete disappearance of wildlife outside national parks, and the author believes that today every large mammal species is in danger. The only hope for wildlife lies in its utilisation, and the implications of this will be the subject of a second article in the next Oryx.