With its diverse habitats and high biodiversity, South Africa plays a leading role in global conservation, harbouring the world’s largest number of wild rhinos and thriving populations of lions, elephants, giraffes, and other species of threatened megafauna. South Africa is also a pioneer in rewilding, driven largely by private landowner initiatives since the 1960s. Yet, in recent years South Africa’s conservation policy, grounded in principles of sustainable use of natural resources, has come under closer scrutiny following a surge in rhino poaching and revelations of controversial intensive and selective wildlife breeding for commercial purposes, notably of lions. In this presentation and discussion session, I will explore the social, political and economic drivers of South African conservation policy and practice, outline contemporary conflicting views on commercial sustainable use of large mammal species, and elucidate the interests behind the positions. I will further reflect on how these conflicts are impacting on conservation success in the southern Africa region, by influencing the incentives of actors involved in illegal harvesting (poaching) and other forms of commercial exploitation (e.g. lion farming).