Game & Wildlife

The Cape buffalo occupies a top spot on hunters’ wish lists, but studies show a decrease in the quality of buffalo trophies, according to Dr Johan Rabie, buffalo breeder and owner of Chimoyo Wildlife. Annelie Coleman asked him about the reasons behind this worrying trend.

The popularity of colour variants such as the golden wildebeest and black impala skyrocketed in the South African game market in 2000, and their prices reflected this. Fourteen years later, these prices dropped just as precipitously. Dr Flippie Cloete, head of Terratek at Suidwes Landbou, takes a look at the drivers that influence the price movements of colour variants.

In the Ponta do Ouro Partial Marine Reserve in southern Mozambique, the local community are included in conservation efforts: they closely monitor turtles and fish catches, and ensure that poaching is kept to a minimum. It’s a conservation success story, supported by the Peace Parks Foundation and implemented Africa-style.

Werner Nel of Bosbok R514 Breeders near Hartbeespoort in North West started breeding bushbuck in 2010. In time, the project expanded to the point where it became necessary to isolate young rams in separate camps to monitor, document and evaluate their growth rate.

Mike Burgess recently visited Warren Rieger, Wildlife Ranching SA’s (WRSA) 2016 Eastern Cape Best Newcomer, on Benghoil Private Reserve near Cathcart to see how he has managed to establish an award-winning game enterprise in just over 10 years.

In Namibia, hunting is a vital part of conservation and contributes to the economic sustainability of mixed farming operations, private game farms, and more importantly, communal conservancies. Gerhard Uys spoke to Tanja Dahl, CEO of the Namibia Professional Hunting Association.

You hear the shot of the rifle and feel the recoil, but the animal runs. What should you do now? To learn about tracking, Gerhard Uys spoke to Willem van der Merwe, a professional hunter at Chacma Safaris, and a tracker from HPG security group, who wanted to remain anonymous.

With its cryptic colouring, quiet habits and powerful senses, the grey rhebok is a worthy adversary. Renowned hunter, Peter Flack, describes why he believes it is Southern Africa’s top game trophy.

Father-and-son team Francoais Schutte Sr and Jr breed buffalo on their farm near Theunissen in the Free State. They are passionate about the species and say that commercial buffalo breeding makes sound economic sense. Annelie Coleman visited the Schuttes to learn more.

Game animals have brought a new dimension to farm life in the arid Karoo. Roelof Bezuidenhout spoke to Neil Dodds and Rob Hobson, two farmers from Jansenville, who have combined game with smallstock.

Thousands of tortoises are inadvertently killed by electric fences in South Africa each year. Yet there are simple, practical steps that farmers can take to stop this. Dr Luke Arnot of the University of Pretoria’s Faculty of Veterinary Science, and Steven Molteno of the global network, Local Governments for Sustainability, explain the extent of the problem, and provide solutions.

The socio-economic dynamics of an ever-growing and increasingly globalised human population are placing increasing demands on the world’s livestock producers. German Agricultural Society president, Carl-Albrecht Bartmer, explored these issues at the opening of EuroTier 2016.