Jun 10, 2021 | News
Tell us about your background…
I was a 30-year-old cop when I went to Zimbabwe in 1998, leaving a wife, five year old daughter and a one year old son at home. I spent about half of my yearly cop salary on that 12-day buffalo/plains game hunt with the late great professional hunter. Mark Ellement. I was SO blown away. There were no African hunting shows back then, so besides the few books I’d read and Discovery Channel, I had little idea of what I was in for. I was hooked from day one! Mark walked my ass off from dark to dark. We hunted for seven days before I shot my first African animal, my buffalo. The trip wrapped up with kudu, huge impala, Egyptian geese and tigerfish on the Zambezi. My wife never wanted to hear the word Africa from me again, and I cried when I left camp because I really thought I’d never return. I tried to give Mark my rifle in addition to the tip I had budgeted for, because it didn’t seem like enough for the experience he’d given me. He refused because he said I’d be back!
What is it that you love about Africa?
Naturally, its diverse wildlife, beautiful sights like Victoria Falls and Table Mountain, the wonderful people I’ve encountered in Zimbabwe, many of whom I still keep in touch with. I love the wide open spaces. Hunting on a million acre concession in Zambia, bordered by another million acre concession, both bordered by a national park of four million acres gives one the feeling of freedom to go anywhere un-restricted.
Took five trips to get a trophy eland
What influenced your love of hunting?
Mostly natural drive. My dad exposed me to small game hunting as a child and as I got of high-school age I began seeking out my own hunting grounds. Ducks and deer were the only hunting I’d done prior to going to Africa.
What countries have you hunted and where?
Twice in of Sidinda camp in Hwange communal CAMPFIRE area of Zimbabwe. Once in the Makuti Safari Area in Zimbabwe. Once at Mr. Roger Whitall’s Humani Ranck in the Save Valley Conservancy in Zim, and once in Zambia in the Mulobezi Safari area of Chief Moomba.
Sun sets on a Zambezi fisherman
What guns, scopes, and ammo are you using?
Still have the same Winchester Mod. 70 in .375 H&H from 1998 that my son used on his first buffalo in 2011. Also a Mod. 70 in 300 Win. Mag. which only shoots Federal ammo well for some reason. Haven’t had anyone explain that to me.
What is your favorite African animal to hunt and why?
Gotta be buffalo. First hunt in 1998 at camp Sidinda in Zimbabwe was the hardest hunting I’d ever done and thus the most rewarding. I went back with my son Asa in 2011 where I was the ‘observer’ on his buffalo hunt in Makuti Zimbabwe, and it was equally rewarding.
What is your greatest trophy?
Not due to inches but due to the hunt is my first African animal, a buffalo. I took my daughter Taylor to Zambia in 2009, where she killed a 49″ sable at 7am on the first day of a 12-day hunt! That’s definitely the most beautiful trophy of the family.
My daugter Taylor with 49″ Zambian sable
What was your closest brush with danger/death?
Must be hitting a canal bank then tree in a small fast aluminum boat with a tiller handle motor while duck hunting in my home state of Louisiana.
Any lessons learned that you’d like to share? What do you suggest a fellow hunter can do to prepare for his or her safari?
Read some books – old and new – about African safaris and familiarize yourself with some customs and history of the country you’ll be visiting. Don’t skimp on the trip of a lifetime. A ‘good deal’ is usually NOT a good deal. No matter what the cost, you will feel as though it was worth double.
Use a reputable booking agent, preferably referred to you by a friend. Go to the Safari Club shows and absorb all you can. The planning and anticipation is part of the trip. Seek out the advice of many others.
Try your best to go to a tribal concession as those wide open free-range areas will be the first to go. I’m not a ‘ranch hater’ because the Save Valley Conservancy is truly one of the most amazing places and a benchmark for conservation. However, I think the ‘wide open places’ will be the first places that hunting will disappear from. Hate to sound negative, but things/areas/politics change fast in Africa and it is my belief that the future of African hunting will be on private ranches. Not a bad thing, but take advantage of the truly wild areas while you can and hunt hard.
Also, hunt an area where you can hear lions roar. It’s the most amazing sound in the world and may not be around forever.
DO NOT miss Victoria Falls while you’re in the southern part of Africa! It’s a MUST SEE. Take your time and be a tourist for a few days before or after your safari. If you fly in or out of South Africa, try to fit in a couple of days in Cape Town. They have incredible vineyards with very affordable tasting tours. Table Mountain is also a very cool tourist thing to do.
The value of having an experienced photographer/videographer along for great photos. (Note Jay the tracker lying behind the eland to hold it in position)
If possible, hire a qualified videographer to tag along. Most of these guys are like having a second professional hunter along. They will take pictures of things you may overlook as well as provide you with a recording and pictures that will last a lifetime. I like keeping a detailed journal of each day, then elaborate on the notes and make a book of text and pictures once I return home. There are several sites like Snapfish, Shutterfly etc. that are very user friendly to do this. After all, this is an investment in memories.
My kids and I have used Zimbabwean taxidermists on six hunts. The taxidermy cost is less than in the U.S. but shipping mounted trophies is more expensive than just shipping horns and hides to a U.S. taxidermist. I’m NOT knocking state-of-the-art U.S. taxidermy, but it has been my choice to have my trophies done where they came from. So the people of your host country benefit fully from their wildlife. Usually (in a non-pandemic year) Zimbabwean taxidermists have a very quick turnaround. All of mine have been top quality. Mounts from 1998 are still up and looking new. Your American booking agent will lead you to American taxidermists and your professional hunter will likely try to sell you on one of their local taxidermists. Either way, their advice will be good. Don’t let a beginner do them at a budget price.
Any last words of wisdom?
No, but one good story. So while hunting with Mark Ellement on my first safari in 1998, we took an afternoon off after we got my buffalo and drove into Vic Falls where his home and family was. I did the touristy thing while he picked up supplies, then we picked up his wife, Karen, and his kids, Sian and Brian, who were toddlers. Mark and I stayed in touch and he’d offer me late season deals to return at minimal cost, but I was still a cop then and couldn’t even afford the airfare. Never got to hunt with him again although it was my goal as he quickly succumbed to cancer in 2014. Upon booking a leopard/plains game hunt for my son and myself in 2018, booking agent Michelle Buchanan told me of a leopard on quota at Sidinda camp. The camp I hunted with Mark Ellement on my first trip 20 years prior. Lo and behold, one of the available professional hunters was a young man named Brian Ellement! The son of Mark, whom I’d met when he was about 5 years old! I got a Whatsapp message from Brian with a picture of a copy of the journal I kept on my first hunt that I’d mailed to his father so long ago. He told his mum that he was lined up to hunt with one of his dad’s clients from 20 years ago. When Karen heard my name she remembered me and retrieved the copy of the journal that I kept every detail of. It gave me chills! Was a pretty cool ‘full-circle’ story.
Devil’s Cataract at Victoria Falls
Jun 10, 2021 | News
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]The African bushbuck is divided into two species, the kewel (Tragelaphus scriptus) and the imbabala (Tragelaphus sylvaticus) The kewel’s distribution includes Senegal Ethiopia,Eritrea, and south to Angola and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The imbabala, which is larger than the kewel, is found from the Cape in South Africa to Angola and Zambia in the west, and up East Africa to Ethiopia and Somalia.
Roland Wards Records of Big Game list eight different species of African bushbuck as does Safari Club International. For descriptive purposes and hunting information, only the above two will be mentioned. The kewel is more related to the nyala, while the imbabala shares traits with the bongo and the sitatunga.
The bull bushbuck stands about three feet at the shoulder and weighs between 100 pounds and 130 pounds. Ewes are considerably smaller at sixty to eighty pounds. The ram is the only sex to have horns. Horns continue to grow throughout the bushbuck’s life. A large set of horns will measure 16-17 inches. Coloration of males and females run from reddish brown to almost black brown with the male being darker than the female. Its legs and flank are white. These colors work well to camouflage the bushbuck. When in danger, the African bushbuck will lie down and not move, making it very hard to spot. Its warning call sounds like the bark of a small dog.
An impressive, not yet fully mature Masai bushbuck ram in excellent condition in Arusha National Park, Tanzania, where the living is relatively easy due to the lack of large predators. McCallum Safaris (Photo Courtesy of Karen Seginak)
Menelik’s bushbuck
African bushbuck prefer living in thick bush along river banks where they can stay well hidden. Cover and fresh water are the main requirements of the bushbuck. They are browsers, but will consume most any other vegetation they can reach. Bushbuck are active around the clock, except when they are near human settlements where they become nocturnal. The ewe will give birth to a single lamb between October and January. For the first sixteen to eighteen weeks of life, the lamb is hidden by its mother until it’s strong enough to survive.
African bushbuck are solitary by nature, the adult males work at staying away from each other. Sometimes a buck and a ewe are seen together during breeding season. There have been sightings of small family groups consisting of a female with a young faun and an immature male, although this isn’t very common. African bushbuck live within an area of about 60,000 square yards and it is very uncommon for them to move out of that area.
Mature African bushbucks are prey to lion, leopard, caracal, wild dogs, and hyena. The young are hunted by pythons. The greatest danger to bushbucks is snaring and hunting with dogs. Habitat destruction also contributes to their decline. African bushbuck come out of their bushy daytime layup during the cooler hours of the morning, and browse along the edges. However, the slightest noise, or movement, will send them back into the shrubbery barking furiously while disappearing from sight.
Hunting the African bushbuck can be a real challenge as it is such a solitary, evasive antelope. The traits necessary to hunt deer in the United States will work well when hunting the African bushbuck. When tracks are found one way to hunt would be to set up a blind along the trail. A hunt can happen quite rapidly as the bushbuck can seem to just appear and disappear, so the hunter must be ready and react instantly.
Sometimes the African bushbuck can be found out in an open spot in the morning trying to shake off the cold night by basking in the warmth of the sun. Hunt along a river bank during early evening while there’s still good shooting light, or in the morning’s first light, and if you are quiet, careful and lucky – very lucky – you might get a shot. The evening is the best time as the African bushbuck is very active at that time.
The most common, and most successful method of African bushbuck hunting is by the stalk. For this, a very good pair of binoculars is a necessity. Binoculars by Zeiss, Leica, Nikon, Swarovski, Doctor and others, in 8X42 or similar are usually the best. Stronger powers, like 10x, reduces the field of vision and are harder to stabilize.
Pick a hill with a good field of view, and check feeding spots. Again, early morning or late afternoon are the best times. Shots will tend to be long, so an accurate rifle in a flat-shooting caliber is best. The .30 magnums like the 300 Weatherby, 300 Winchester Magnum, 300 Remington Ultra Magnum, or any of many similar calibers can reach out 300 yards if the hunter does his part.
One caveat about African bushbuck hunting. This little antelope can be extremely dangerous. Wound him and he will become quite aggressive, with a charge possible. Those foot and a half long horns are very sharp at the pointed end, and more than one careless hunter has had the dubious pleasure of meeting a pair at a high rate of speed. When you shoot, aim for the chest cavity. If he runs, give him a fair amount of time to stiffen up before doing a follow up.
Seven Bushbuck Facts
- Scientific name: Tragelaphus sylvaticus
- Male weight: 100-130 pounds
- Male shoulder height: three feet
- Male horn size: 11-17 inches
- Gestation: 180 days
- Hunting: April – October
- Territory: 60,000 square yards
[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_single_image image=”30935″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30934″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30936″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30937″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30939″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30941″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30942″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30943″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30944″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30945″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30946″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30947″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30950″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30949″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30948″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][vc_single_image image=”30952″ img_size=”full” add_caption=”yes” alignment=”center”][/vc_column][/vc_row]
Jun 10, 2021 | News
Contact: (Owner/Manage) Hilgard Kotze
Physical Address:
Farm Moredou , Schweizer – Reneke, North West
Tel Office: 053 963 1444
Mobile: 082 784 5269
Contact Email:
mortax@mailbox.co.za
Website:
moredoutaxidermy.com
It is always a treat to be given a real surprise and this was one for me. Driving onto the farm, Acacias, ground squirrels and a beautiful winter morning to meet a family operation, husband wife, daughter in law and son in an operation that is almost 30 years in operation is wonderful. A short whistle strop tour and a promise from Hilgard to put a few words down.
Tell us a little about your operation.
How it started & why you got into the industry:
It was actually my dad’s hobby. He did a course through Nature Conservation. So for me it also started as a hobby just doing my friends trophies. Each year there were more trophies to mount and that is where it became a business.
How many years have you been in the business?
We have been in the taxidermy industry since 1992.
What are your favorite mounts & why?
Our favorite mount and these we do the most or, are shoulder mounts.
What are your specialty areas that you have in the business?
We specialize in full mounts, shoulder mounts, skull mounts, rug mounts, skin soft tanning and also
leather tanning. It all depends on what the
clients want. They can send us pictures of how they want their mount.
Current processes offered:
- Pick up & collect trophies Yes
- Maximum distance offered to collect trophies : Across the country
- Own tanning facilities: YES
- Do you buy in forms or sculpt your own or both – Both
Delivery time (approximate):
- Dip and Pack – 5 to 6 Months
- European mounts – 6 Months
- Shoulder mounts – 9 to 10 Months
- Full mounts – 9 to 10 Months
Jun 9, 2021 | News
Contact: (Owner/Manage) Hilgard Kotze
Physical Address: Farm Moredou , Schweizer – Reneke, North West
Tel Office: 053 963 1444
Mobile: 082 784 5269
Contact Email: mortax@mailbox.co.za
Website: moredoutaxidermy.com
It is always a treat to be given a real surprise and this was one for me. Driving onto the farm, Acacias, ground squirrels and a beautiful winter morning to meet a family operation, husband wife, daughter in law and son in an operation that is almost 30 years in operation is wonderful. A short whistle strop tour and a promise from Hilgard to put a few words down.
Tell us a little about your operation.
How it started & why you got into the industry:
It was actually my dad’s hobby. He did a course through Nature Conservation. So for me it also started as a hobby just doing my friends trophies. Each year there were more trophies to mount and that is where it became a business.
How many years have you been in the business?
We have been in the taxidermy industry since 1992.
What are your favorite mounts & why?
Our favorite mount and these we do the most or, are shoulder mounts.
What are your specialty areas that you have in the business?
We specialize in full mounts, shoulder mounts, skull mounts, rug mounts, skin soft tanning and also leather tanning. It all depends on what the clients want. They can send us pictures of how they want their mount.
Current processes offered:
- Pick up & collect trophies Yes
- Maximum distance offered to collect trophies : Across the country
- Own tanning facilities: YES
- Do you buy in forms or sculpt your own or both – Both
Delivery time (approximate):
- Dip and Pack – 5 to 6 Months
- European mounts – 6 Months
- Shoulder mounts – 9 to 10 Months
- Full mounts – 9 to 10 Months
Jun 9, 2021 | News
Non-governmental organisation (NGO) African Parks has just released its 2020 Annual Report. By the close of 2020, AP had 19 parks under management in 11 countries, over 14.7 million hectares (56,757 square miles, covering ten of the 13 ecological biomes on mainland Africa. This is the largest and most ecologically diverse amount of land under protection for any one NGO on the continent.
African Parks was founded in 2000 as an African solution for Africa’s conservation challenges. AP takes on complete responsibility for the long-term management of national parks and protected areas, in partnership with governments and local communities. The goal of such partnerships is to restore and effectively manage these landscapes, making them ecologically, socially and financially sustainable so they can deliver a multitude of benefits for people and wildlife in perpetuity.
In his Introduction to the Annual Report, Mavuso Msimang, writes movingly about his early childhood when he learned to love nature walking beside his grandfather on his farm in KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. He could not learn about nature by visiting national parks, for these were off-limits to people like Mavuso because of the apartheid system of racial segregation. After living in exile for 30 years, he returned to the reborn and democratic country of his birth, and became the CEO of the South African National Parks in 1997. In 2000 Mavuso and some colleagues founded African Parks. He is today the Vice-Chair and has been a Board member for the past 17 years.
Akagera National Park
In 2000 Malawi was the first country to entrust African Parks to manage and resurrect the Majete Wildlife Reserve. Today the organisation is managing four of Malawi’s parks. African Parks is now responsible for 90% of the country’s elephants, 100% of its rhinos and has brought lions and cheetahs back to the country. The parks are the largest employers in their respective regions, and have remained so during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Here is the AP portfolio of protected areas.
ANGOLA
Iona National Park
BENIN
Pendjari National Park; W National Park
CENTRAL AFRICAN REPUBLIC
Chinko
CHAD
Zakouma National Park; Siniaka Minia Wildlife Reserve; Eneida Natural & Cultural Reserve
CONGO
Odzala-Kokoua National Park
DEMOCRACTIC REPUBLIC OF CONGO
Garamba National Park
MALAWI
Majete Wildlife Reserve; Liwonde National Park; Mangochi Forest Reserve; Nkhotakota Wildlife Reserve
MOZAMBIQUE
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park
RWANDA
Akagera National Park; Nyungwe National Park
ZAMBIA
Liuwa Plain National Park; Bengweulu Wetlands
ZIMBABWE
Matusadona National Park
What an achievement it is for African Parks to have gained the confidence of governments in these countries to take full responsibility for the management of their protected areas! But African Parks has its sights set on further efforts to protect Africa’s biodiversity, and its vision for the next decade is that by 2030, AP will aim to manage 30 parks measuring 30 million hectares across 11 biomes, significantly contributing to the vision of protecting 30% of Africa for nature.
Bazaruto Archipelago National Park
Mavuso Msimang says:
“There is a quiet and demonstrable transformation under way across the continent for protected areas, and that is because of the governments that are gaining confidence and trust in the African Parks model, and for progressive funders who are investing in in nature’s capital. We are not stopping. This is a journey I helped create, and it will continue long after me, and all of us. But in the meantime we will continue to do what we have always done. We will be persistent, we will be patient, and we will be polite, but with a ferocity knowing that this is the surest solution for any park in peril in Africa, and therefore for Africa’s wildlife, and always for Africa’s people. And that is a legacy of which I am most deeply proud.”
We are indeed blessed to have people of Mavuso Msimang and his African Parks colleagues’ calibre, dedicated to the protection of Africa’s abundant biodiversity. This is a very special annual report, full of information and beautifully presented, with amazing photography. You can download it by following this link.
Dr John Ledger is a past Director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, now a consultant, writer and teacher on the environment, energy and wildlife; he is a columnist for the African Hunting Gazette. He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. John.Ledger@wol.co.za
Jun 9, 2021 | Hunting Stories, News
As the world knows, 2020 was unlike any year ever before experienced—and that was true for life at Eastern Cape Bowhunting. When the government implemented the lockdown, we refocused our efforts on our hunting grounds, staff, facilities and animals to elevate every experience for future guests.
Thriving Populations
The rainfall in the 2020 season was so much better than the previous seven years, which led to thriving animal populations and record new births. Because there was no hunting in 2020, the prospects for success have truly never been better. With the improved rainfall and feed availability, we’re seeing some truly impressive bulls. This hunting season is going to be remarkable!
New Hunting Blinds
We built two new bowhunting blinds to provide guests with new opportunities. Dassie Blind is set into the side of a kopje (stone outcrop) and has a rugged feel, unlike the concrete blinds on the property, making it an ideal spot for baboons, kudu and waterbuck. Cliff Blind is situated along the Tarka River on a remote part of the property, where we’re seeing nyala, kudu, sable and golden wildebeest.
Pop the Cork
With the help of our head sommelier in Cape Town, we’ve acquired some very exciting wines for our guests. The cellar is stocked with prize-winning South African wines, as well as a few new selections to keep things interesting. If you’re new to South African wines, fear not—we’re always excited to host wine tastings for your group. And, of course, when the occasion calls for it, we happily open a beautifully chilled bottle of champagne!
Caring for Staff Families
During the lockdown, all our staff’s children came to stay with them on the farm. Because we feel so strongly about education, we’ve been supplementing their learning with educational materials and games. We built a community vegetable garden to supplement food through the year for our families and created a sports area for the children to play netball and soccer. We even hosted a proper South African Christmas party with all the kids!
Ready for the Hunt
The start of 2021 has seen all our rivers flowing, our dams full, and we’re irrigating our newly planted crops with strategically collected rainwater. There’s plenty of green grass and the animals have had a bumper birthing season. The excitement, trophies, camaraderie and friendships forged in the pursuit of the hunt are all starting up. The firewood has been prepared and the campfires are eagerly awaiting your return to the starry African skies. The hunt is on!
To learn more about Eastern Cape Bowhunting and make your reservation for 2021, visit easterncapebowhunting.com Password: hunting.
May 12, 2021 | News
I wanted to showcase the common eland (as opposed to the Giant, or Lord Derby) this month. When I sent the message to the African Dawn Outfitters asking them to send in pictures for this month’s issue, there was some push back. Isn’t the Lord Derby an eland said some? Others thought it warranted showcasing all on its own.
Read on
May 10, 2021 | Uncategorized
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May 6, 2021 | News
As second owner of Nico van Rooyen Taxidermy, from 1994, my beginnings in this artistic trade were based on a childhood in hunting and conservation, both in Tanzania and Germany, as well as a family background in art. A profession in taxidermy offered itself as a logical combination. German taxidermy school, followed by an apprenticeship with Nico van Rooyen in South Africa from 1979 to 1984 were the foundation to my career. Eight years followed in museum taxidermy at the then vibrant and active Transvaal Museum of Natural History.
With my partner Geoff Voigt we took over the company from Nico van Rooyen in early 1994, by then a well-known and reputable company with international clientele.
Keeping pace with developments locally and abroad we specialize in custom mounts of game animals from all over Africa, both for hunters as well as museums.
We draw on a large stock of molds, sculpted in house over the last 50 years.
One of our specialties are replicas of special trophies, as well as replica mounts of elephant, rhino and hippo. These circumvent permit issues, and are possibly more durable than skin mounts.
We are currently branching out into bronze wildlife sculpture.
We strive to keep our delivery time for mounted trophies within 10 to 12 months, while Dip/ Ship leaves to the shipper within 4 months of payment.
We offer a trophy collection service within a radius of about 600km of our studio, as well as good courier services operating within South Africa.
We understand the importance of the close co-operation of outfitter, taxidermist and trophy exporter, that is necessary to facilitate a successful hunting experience.
Email: katharina@taxidermy.co.za
Website: www.taxidermy.co.za
May 6, 2021 | News
On 2 May 2021, South Africa’s Minister for Environment, Forestry and Fisheries, Barbara Creecy, made public a massive report of 582 pages compiled by a so-called ‘High-Level Panel’, containing 18 goals and 60 recommendations. Most strategic planners will tell you that having too many goals is a sure recipe for failure to achieve any of them.
It is called ‘The high-level panel of experts for the review of policies, legislation and practices on matters of elephant, lion, leopard and rhinoceros management, breeding, hunting, trade and handling. For submission to the Minister of Environment, Forestry and Fisheries – 15 December 2020.’
The media have picked up as the main message of the report that South Africa plans to ban the so-called ‘canned hunting’ of lions in South Africa, a practice that has resulted in widespread condemnation from many quarters, including most hunting organisations and from the majority of hunters themselves.
A Colloquium on Captive Lion Breeding by the then-Portfolio Committee on Environmental Affairs was held in August 2018. This was attended by a range of national and international organisations who gave evidence to the Committee. According to the report of the Portfolio Committee, which was later adopted by Parliament, there was a predominant view that the captive lion breeding industry did not contribute to conservation and was doing damage to South Africa’s conservation and tourism reputation.
The Portfolio Committee, therefore, requested the Department, as a matter of urgency, to initiate a policy and legislative review with a view to putting an end to this practice. Given that there were a number of other burning issues related to other iconic species such as rhino (escalating poaching, rhino horn trade), elephant (ivory trade), and leopard (threats such as illegal offtake of damage causing leopards, poorly managed trophy hunting, trade in leopard skin for religious and traditional use) the Department decided to include these in the terms of reference of the Panel in order to get a holistic view of the pertinent issues.
The Minister established the High Level Panel (HLP) on 10 October 2019, in terms of Section 3A of the National Environmental Management Act 107 of 1998 (NEMA). The Panel was chaired by Ms Pamela Yako, and comprised 25 members from a range of backgrounds and areas of expertise.
The report is extremely long and will require some serious reading and analysis before the full implications of its recommendations can be made. It remains to be seen whether any of the 18 goals can be achieved, given the complicated nature of South African society, let alone the diversity of views about the environment and conservation. The views of animal rights proponents seem to be scattered throughout the report. Some idealistic philosophical threads run through the report, like this:
“To provide this aspirational horizon against which to reference our thinking, we identified the following consensus ‘working vision’:
Secured, restored, and rewilded natural landscapes with thriving populations of Elephant, Lion, Rhino, and Leopard, as indicators for a vibrant, responsible, inclusive, transformed, and sustainable wildlife sector.”
‘Responsible’ and ‘sustainable’ sound like appropriate words for the wildlife sector to aim for, but what is meant by ‘vibrant’, ‘inclusive’ and ‘transformed’ in this context? Given that the ANC government seems intent on implementing a new land policy of ‘expropriation without compensation’, what does this mean for the privately-owned wildlife ranches and game farms on which much of South Africa’s hunting activities take place?
The HLP identified seven cross-cutting themes within which they could frame the issues of concern that needed to be dealt with as part of its Terms of Reference (ToR), and for which the members would need a deeper understanding to inform their recommendations, namely: The Constitutional framework; Legislation and mandates; Land-use and the South African wildlife model; Transformation in the sector; Education and capacity building; International position, and Animal welfare.
Seven sub-committees developed situation reports for each theme, which identified key issues of concern, as well as providing different ‘lenses’ from which to view the specific issues raised for each species within the ToR. It is no wonder that their report is so lengthy! The Executive summary is five pages long. Let’s skim through its 18 areas of concern to the HLP:
- Recommends the development of a National Policy on Biodiversity and Sustainable Use, which will provide context, clarity and strategic direction to all stakeholders.
- Notes the importance of transformation of the sector, with empowerment and capacitation of communities living with wildlife, and recognition of their traditions and culture, as practiced through the traditional leaders and traditional healers.
- Notes the importance of thriving populations of the five iconic species as catalysts for a vibrant, responsible, inclusive, transformed, and sustainable wildlife sector, and has identified key aspects of wildlife land-use and the wildlife model that can be improved to achieve this.
- Capacity building, education, training, and empowerment of human capital across the wildlife sector needs focus and attention.
- Standards and practices within the wildlife sector need to meet the minimum acceptable standards for animal welfare and well-being.
- Inefficiencies and ineffectiveness of governance of the wildlife sector caused by multiple mandates and dual competency between national and provinces requires reform from a legislative and implementation practice perspective.
- Conflicting legislation, policy and mandates between Environment and Agriculture requires attention.
- Rationalised and improved contribution of protected areas to support conservation and sustainable use of the five species, and to aid in serving as drivers of regional rural economies.
- South Africa’s international standing as a leader in conservation is threatened by some wildlife practices and approaches in South Africa – with a protocol, key interventions, and a risk mitigation and communication strategy required to deal with this.
- There is a need for responsible, adaptive, transparent, and accountable management that secures thriving and sustainable populations of the five species and their habitats, for the benefit of all (wildlife, wildlife custodians, and society at large), while highlighting interventions to secure this.
- South Africa to be repositioned and promoted as a destination of choice for legal, regulated and responsible hunting of the five iconic species, recognising that this supports and promotes conservation and rural livelihoods.
- Live export of the five iconic species should focus on in situ conservation of the species within their natural range.
- There is a need for development of an integrated, shared, strategic, approach to leopard management that considers all the dimensions, and is inclusive of all stakeholders.
- As the HLP recommends a policy position stating that South Africa does not envisage submitting an ivory trade proposal to CITES as long as current specified circumstances prevail, alternative income streams need to be identified to support both elephant management and urgent socio-economic development requirements of people living with elephants.
- The HLP recommends that South Africa should take a global leadership position on rhino conservation, and that the Minister should lead a process of engagement to develop a consensus approach to both global conservation of rhino, and a range state consensus on international commercial trade in rhino horn, that can be taken to CITES when the Rhino Committee of Inquiry and Rhino Action Plan conditions are met; to this end, urgent progress needs to be made with the implementation of the Rhino Committee of Inquiry recommendations, while alternative benefit streams to international rhino horn sale are developed and implemented.
- The HLP recommends investigating the full range of options for future stockpile use, taking into account social and economic risks, costs, and benefits.
- The majority of the HLP recommends that the current trend of increasing intensive management and registration of rhino captive breeding operations is reversed within a period that allows for a sustainable conservation outcome, through phasing out captive rhino breeding, and providing clarity that trade in captive rhino horn would not be supported or approved prior to the Rhino Committee of Inquiry recommendations being met.
- Three different approaches to captive lions are presented by the panel, with the majority view being that, in future, South Africa will not captive breed lions, keep lions in captivity, or use captive lions or their derivatives commercially.
So, there is much to think about in this massive report, and already there are noises from rhino breeders that their rights are seriously infringed by the recommendations here. Most of us will support the notion of phasing our canned lion hunting, but what is to be done with the large population of captive lions, and the people whose livelihoods are sustained by the practice? What usually happens when you ban the trade in any commodity, is that it goes underground and becomes the domain of criminals and corrupt officials. That has already happened with rhino horn, and will surely be the case with lion bones. The HLP report is not very helpful in these two cases.
But the underlying support for hunting is welcomed, as it is expressed in recommendation 11:
“South Africa to be repositioned and promoted as a destination of choice for legal, regulated and responsible hunting of the five iconic species, recognising that this supports and promotes conservation and rural livelihoods.”
Dr John Ledger is a past Director of the Endangered Wildlife Trust, now a consultant, writer and teacher on the environment, energy and wildlife; he is a columnist for the African Hunting Gazette. He lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. John.Ledger@wol.co.za
