Good day gentleman.
Prices do go up a can of cokes was 50c 20 years ago but it would be $1.50 today it would largely come down to inflation.
The value of money is not the same as in 1950 but in saying that salaries have also gone up with time.
I am not sure if we can classify anything as cheap these day’s but in my opinion you just can’t beat Africa for value for money!
Willem you are right there has never been a better time to hunt Africa prices have gone down a considerable amount even and if they have stayed the same for the last 5 years inflation has gone up so for the prices to remain the same it means someone is making less profit?
All of this would once again come down to the same thing:
In the first instance: South Africa operates as a democracy embracing the principles of capitalism, freedom of association and all those lovely things associated with it. None of us can change that. (The fact that the ruling party is committed to convert SA to a socialist dispensation is a topic for another day and a another forum).
A game farm business (like any other business) has to consider all the factors and responsibilities involved in running a sustainable business, inter alia:
-The capital investment in establishing the farm, lodge, general infrastructure and game breeding herds
-The operating capital required to exercise decent land management practices, maintaining international (quality) accommodation
-The responsibility and cost as employer to provide quality employment and to ensure compliance to provisions of our Labour Relations Act (rated as one of the most progressive ones in the world).
-The risk and exposure associated to ecological, agricultural, climatic, economical, social and political considerations.
Other role players (i.e. non-land owning/impendent PH’s, Outfitters, Agents, game capturers etc) in the “industry” do not necessarily have any of the above factors to consider (if it is the case, then the level if investment, operating capital, running cost and risk is at a far lower level)
Gentleman as with any supply chain all around the world you get the producer (game farmer) supplier(all the middle men) and then the consumer (client).
We might all be part of the same industry but who are vital to the existence of the supply and demand chain here?
Making cut backs means there is less money to go around and at the same time the simplest solution might be to go directly to the producer?
In saying this it might be extremely important to acknowledge that, despite the fact of not owning land there are numerous examples of great Outfitters who have made the industry their home and with years of experience they can contribute greatly to the management of game farms whilst running an extremely well organized business.
The facts are that land is becoming more and more of a rare commodity, privatization is making a massive contribution to the future conservation of wild life populations in South Africa example white Rhino.
The people who invest the large amounts of money would preferably like to see some returns on their initial investment?
Game farmers are not only cutting out freelance Outfitters but game capturers as well by constructing their own boma’s to passively catching game and selling these species to other land owners who are either in the hunting industry (usually both local and trophy hunter) or who would be looking at breading with this particular game species.
The very same owners who are acting out their rights are being scrutinized by all the parties who were making a living out of being the middle man? This would not be fair in my opinion.
Should we all be working together and just give that return on money invested to the middle man I don’t have the answer?
Please bear in mind that there is a massive difference between being a land owner and running a good hunting outfit. I honestly believe that this is where the Outfitter with years of experience comes in but he would be working for the ranch owner in the same way as you will get an owner of a company and he will have employees who run and manage his business for him. Having good managers and staff who look after the quality of the product, managing stocks and being attentive to good clients service is vital to the success of any business be it hunting or managing a general store.
This has it’s advantages as well the Outfitter would become a permanent employee meaning he will be paid a salary the whole year round while performing his duties (and there are a lot of them) the whole year round.
Good PH’s with experience will also become vital to running the operation to its full potential.
It might be wise to act as both this can lead to saving more on costs and by doing so provide a better income?
I am not saying that this is what is going to happen but it might be a great solution to the problem that way each person brings a level of expertise to the table and in turn everyone works together and gets rewarded according to their contribution.
With regards to the whole land issue and the marketing of ridiculously BIG hunting concessions well it may be a lot easier to get all your neighbors to form part of your total hunting area than it will be to drive from ranch to ranch and hunt.
The bottom line is if you intend on buying land in the Limpopo province you will be looking at about R10 000- R20 000 per hectare. Prices might be a bit cheaper in other provinces but not by much.
Ranch owners have come to except that it is better to let one company hunt on their land than to give hunting rights to everyone it would be a lot easier to control quota’s and should something go wrong witch does happen there is no need for finger pointing.
Gentleman we need large areas to hunt on a stainable basis no one can hunt a full season’s trophies on one property.
By having neighboring concession we can harvest game selectively, provide our client with the best possible trophy and at the same time provide an income for the land owner who is not up to running a full time hunting operation, but comes to relax on his ranch after a long week of work in the city.
There are some operations who privately own massive stacks of land and don’t need neighboring concession but I can literally count them on one hand, for all the other operations it is vital to have numerous neighboring concessions to hunt on a sustainable basis.
I would be talking about the 15 000 – 80 000 acres range here.
I sincerely hope that all will survive but highly doubt it, people who really want to be in the hunting industry might find alternative methods to make it work for them?
Thanks once gain for all the contributions it is appreciated!
Best Regards
Louis van Bergen