Can people from SA hunt by themselves??

Quick question for the guys living in south africa, I know most people on here are PHs, but for the average SA person, that doesn't work on a game reserve, can they just hunt on state land or private land?? Do they need a guide? is their seasons for different game?? Im from the states and just wondering about the laws.

Masterlucus3 thats a good question, I just returned from a hunt on the East Cape this summer and met some South Africans that were hunting on the reserve that I was hunting on and My PH did say that as a kid he grew up hunting the same mountains that I was hunting for Mountain Reedbuck I to would like to hear there answers. Bob Puckett

Hi Masterlucas3,
Certainly. Property in South Africa work a little bit different than in the states. All land here , that are hunted on anyways, are private owned. In the old days there were some hunting allowed on state land , usually with the chief of the local tribe's permission. But to answer your question, yes , we South Africans hunt alone, as a group , without guides on private land. Majority of the land will be commercial farmers with natural occuring game on the land. Hope that answers your questions.
Kind Regards
Marius Goosen

Masterlucas3,

In the North West and Limpopo Provinces it works a bit different, we don't use always Professional Hunters for local hunters, but do make use of trackers. Most of the time all local hunters are escorted by the farmers guide / trackers.

regards,

This was a question that I was going to ask. I wish Africa was set up like it is here in Pennsylvania. Our PGC (Pennsylvania Game Commision) buys land for the sole purpose of hunting. They are called SGL's (State Game lands), you can do other things there like hiking, bike riding, and horseback riding but they were bought for our 1 MILLION hunters. As you just read we have A LOT of hunters, roughly 5-7 % of the population hunts White-Tail Deer. Because of this, there is not enough farm land for all the hunters to cram into. So the PGC buys land for the hunters who don't have their own property or other farms to hunt. We have quite a bit of land in our SGL's. In fact, some of them are huge.

I was kind of hoping that the African countries had something like this for its residents.

Hello masterlucas3,

Most of the questions that you have asked have been replied to, but briefly as is fitting for such a discussion forum.

Any more detailed reply will start with words like: South Africa has 9 provinces, and therefore 9 sets of regulations....... But a detailed description can be found here: Andrew McLaren Safaris The other provinces have similar rules, but sometimes use different terms for the same concept.

Briefly those questions not replied to: Does South African hunters need a guide? Not legally required, but often a farm labourer accompanies a hunter as a 'guide' whose main task is to see to it that the hunter does not get lost or stray from the owner's property.

Seasons? A complicated situation where the reply depends on Province and whether or not the property hunted is fenced by an approved high fence or not, and also depending on the game hunted. Mostly the season is during our winter months: May to August.

The only real rules that a foreign hunter should know are the two big ones: Firstly, you must have your hunt arranged by a person with a valid Permit to act as a Hunting Outfitter in that particular province. Secondly, you must insist on signing a Remuneration Agreement or Hunt Contract before the start of the hunt. If you have made sure of these two, you should really be OK and hunt within the legal requirements.

In good hunting.

Andrew McLaren

thanks alot guys, i got family down in cape town and they aren't really into hunting so i was just seeing if i could bring down a bow and wing it, but after this info im gonna have to plan a hunt with a ph