Oryxes were hunted extensively for their meat and as trophies. In the 1930s, oryx hunting with motorized vehicles was a popular pastime of wealthy Arab princes.
The construction of new roads enabled hunters to reach previously inaccessible areas, and hunting weapons also became more advanced - directly from the car, a hunter could kill several oryx at once.
Overgrazing of the oryx's natural habitat and trapping of oryx for private collections also contributed to the extinction of the species. As a result, by 1930 there were no oryx antelope left in the territory of present-day Israel.
