Some interesting facts about the hunting industry in South Africa:

James
Those are some interesting facts you've posted I hope they keep going in a positive direction.

Originally Posted by enysse

Do you stock animals from Zambia, if you put a fence up? Because the animals are different than the ones from RSA and would think the animals from the area would be best adaptable to living behind the fence in their native land. Second question....Are fences being more and more common in Zambia ?....just reading things from the internet and magazines...it seem like they are in the increase.

enyesse the animals are all indigenous to zambia and to the kafue area.i havent heard of anybody(could be wrong) even thinking of bringing non indigenous animals from SA, and personally dont see the point. fences will become more prevalent in zambia as more people become involved in game ranching, which is still in its infancy, as i have said before to be able to own and breed/hunt animals your place has to be fenced, and when you spend a lot of money buying in animals to stock the place the last thing you want is to see them disappearing into the distance. the fencing is only on private land not govnt hunting areas or national parks, same as other countries. if you own a big enough chunk of land that is not fenced, and has game on it you can buy a quota of licences from zawa , but to be able to get such a large amount is not easy or cheap.

Second Wind, you need to realize Africa is a different world, first basic mistake is assuming that government is functional, if you just look at the rhino poaching stats for 2012 you will be surprised to find that a large percentage are from Government owned property - Nature reserves.

So if Government cannot manage game or prosecute poachers on their own properties i would not want them to look at private property.

Poaching is a criminal offense in South Africa as well, the problem is not catching and arresting the poacher, it is where the legal system kicks in.. that guy is out on bail in a few days, with a system flooded with way more serious crimes they tend to not want the prisons overcrowded with petty crimes, thus poachers get away..
now this is the same legal system you are suggesting that should own the game.. that will never work in Africa...

No matter how you look at Africa the unmistakable fact is that it is Lawless, by that i do not mean we have no laws, they think of new ones every five minutes, the fact is that it is not enforced.. so you can compare Africa to the Wild West (i only know the Hollywood version :-))
No imagine implementing your proposed system in those times..

We already have the problem that if you are white and own something your predecessor(Colonialist's) stole it so it belongs to the "Africans", or at least that is a mindset in rural Africa..
now combine that mindset with unemployment and you understand why poaching is a large problem(not only poaching but more serious things like stealing in general, farm murders ext), and if government cannot manage basic service delivery how will they be able to mange the game as well.

I know if it was not for private ownership of the game you guys would have paid way more for game in South Africa because it would not be so available.. and you would have paid highly escalated Safari & Lodging fees like in other African countries to make up for the fact that you cannot make a living on reselling permits alone... that is basically how Zambia works if you do not own the property, my understanding and please correct em if i am wrong here spike.t

As for the High fencing, in South Africa high fencing does not automatically mean you own the game and can do as you please, non high fenced and farms which does not have exemption still has to apply for a permit to hunt the game on the farm, but farmers with high fences (Strictly inspected as well) can apply for a exemption permit, only once you have a exemption permit you are allowed to manage the game without permit applications ext.. so strictly by that it means that only farm owners with Exemption has full ownership of the game.

Game farming is a business in South Africa, many cattle farmers switched to Game farming as a primary business, and that is why you have such diverse species and large numbers in SA.

Just my perspective.

Originally Posted by Bobpuckett

James
Those are some interesting facts you've posted I hope they keep going in a positive direction.

+1 Thanks for keeping it going in a positive direction. Apples to apples, not oranges to apples. I think that point is being made time and time again here.

Marvelafrica, I think you are spot on and what you said needed to be said....You guys have the most beautiful place in the whole world, but the government comes into play and F's everything up. i guess that's typical of any government really.

Originally Posted by MarvelAfrica

first basic mistake is assuming that government is functional, if you just look at the rhino poaching stats for 2012 you will be surprised to find that a large percentage are from Government owned property - Nature reserves.

So if Government cannot manage game or prosecute poachers on their own properties i would not want them to look at private property.

Perfect, and again informative'...

Originally Posted by spike.t

enysse the animals are all indigenous to zambia and to the kafue area.i havent heard of anybody(could be wrong) even thinking of bringing non indigenous animals from SA, and personally dont see the point. fences will become more prevalent in zambia as more people become involved in game ranching, which is still in its infancy, as i have said before to be able to own and breed/hunt animals your place has to be fenced, and when you spend a lot of money buying in animals to stock the place the last thing you want is to see them disappearing into the distance. the fencing is only on private land not govnt hunting areas or national parks, same as other countries. if you own a big enough chunk of land that is not fenced, and has game on it you can buy a quota of licences from zawa , but to be able to get such a large amount is not easy or cheap.

That makes a lot of sense to me. I think as time passes you are going to see that if it wasn't for private land owners there would not be as near as many animals on the planet Earth. It's unrealistic to think the governement is going save land and be a good stewart of wildlife conservation. There are more preservations and anti hunters out there than real hunter conservationists...so we just have to keep on hunting. And poaching, developing land for crops and homes is not going to stop today or tomorrow. Having control of the land is key!!!

A lot of great information here. Thanks guys. However, I'm surprised to see that game farming is only 1/4 of one percent of the national GDP.