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 HEMINGWAY OUTFITTER
INTERNATIONAL
We at Hemingway Outfitter International are serious about our
commitment to wildlife conservation. Along with being proud members of Safari
Club International we are also members of World Wildlife Fund. Many people ask
us how we as one of the biggest suppliers of Zebra rugs, can have any
commitment to conservation when animals have to be killed to have there skins
for ornaments. Our reply is as follows:
Never before in the history of conservation of wildlife in Africa, has there
been such a growth of farmland used for livestock farming being converted to
game farming. The compound growth of land used for game farming is more than 5%
per annum and game ranches constitute more than 13% of all agricultural land
However, the question is whether this expansion has a positive or negative
influence on South Africas economy and welfare of its people. Furthermore, the
contribution of game ranching to nature conservation is completely
underestimated. Although the international standards regarding land for
conservation purposes are set at 10 %, South Africas national parks and
provincial reserves only compromise 6% of land surface, while private game
farms and reserves cover more than twice the area. Regarding the ethics of
hunting, it has been empirically established that it is these hunters, game
farmers and game capturers who are the heartbeat of what has not only brought
so many species back from the brink of extinction, but has created the biggest
conservation success story of the African continent. There is now more game in
South Africa, than 100 years ago. The reason for this is because African game
has now commercial value. By buying these excess animals from game farmers; we
create a demand for these animals. South Africa has been leading the way in
privately owned game ranches, through its philosophy of the utilization of its
resources.
All the zebra skins we sell were harvested legally from abundant stock on
privately owned game farms. Every skin we sell can be traced back to the farm
where it was hunted. Animals are hunted in as humane manner as possible. A big
percentage of the money farmers received are reinvested in game conservation.
Therefore it is to our long-term survival, crucial that these resources will
not be over utilized. |
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| HUNTING AND CONSERVATION |
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In the beginning was the Garden of Eden. And maybe it was (and still is) in
South Africa. For no other country in the world offers such diverse landscapes,
ranging from coasts to mountains, from lakes to deserts, from steppes to
bushveld. This veritable plant kingdom is the ideal habitat for the manifold
animal world we know as South Africa. More than 290 mammals and 450 types of
bird are at home in a paradise of more than 24,000 species of plants. This
paradise was intact for millions of years until modern man came and
indiscriminately turned paradise into hell. Game was hunted to a point of
extinction and his passion for mono-culture laid waste vast tracts of natural
vegetation. Ecologically responsible thinking dawned only a century ago. The
first National Park for the preservation of an unspoilt environment was created
in America in 1872 with the proclamation of the Yellowstone National Park.
Fortunately for Africa, a similar park was proclaimed by the Volksraad of the
Transvaal Republic in 1894, the name of which has survived as a tribute to its
president: Paul Krüger. It all began with a small area of 17,000 ha in the
Eastern Transvaal and in 1898 the Sabi Game Reserve was added to it. From such
small beginnings, grew the world-famous Krüger National Park.
One hundred years hence, South Africa can boast 16 National Parks (30,700 km2)
and more than 120 provincial parks: 62 of which are in KwaZulu-Natal (3,120
km2); 45 in the Cape Provinces; (1,350 km2) and 9 in the old Transvaal Province
(1,150 km2). Fortunately, the people of South Africa embraced the idea of
preserving their environment to the extent that the efforts of the state were
matched by the efforts of private individuals. The three Provinces of
Mpumalanga, North West and Northern Province alone account for 560 private
Nature Reserves (12,900 km2) and on 800 specially fenced-in private farms
(12.000) the flora and fauna are protected by private initiative. The past
decade has seen a quantum leap in private commitment to preserving the natural
assets of this country. But those here mentioned alone represent a total area
of 60.997 km2 - not far off the size of the Republic of Ireland.
It is therefore not surprising that the successes of such commitment have
contributed to make South Africa a leader in "Eco-Tourism", which ever way you
might define it. Protection of wildlife within limited resources, has however
led to a need of proper game management. The over-population of game in
reserves and on farms can and has led to imbalances within the plant world,
making game management as much a necessity as stock management on commercial
farms. While the latter has been accepted by general consensus, the latter has
become and remains a contentious issue. The conservationists call it culling
for the sake of preserving a balance within a sensitive ecosystem, the
antagonists call it hunting for sport and pleasure and with all the negative
connotations that have morally outlawed this practice. Excesses and bad
practices have added fuel to the flames. But this cannot negate the fact that
conservation and hunting are the inseparable "Siamese twins" of modern
environmental management.
Hunting in South Africa forms an integral and necessary part of Nature
Conservation. It has nothing to do with the senseless massacre of the past
century. And it represents an important source of income to the guardians of
nature. More than 50 types of game need to be culled on a regular basis. But
South Africa is fortunate in having a good infrastructure and highly qualified
personnel to manage this delicate balance of conservation and hunting. Although
the animals do live freely within Nature, their habitat is limited to the size
of the Game Reserve, the Nature Reserve or the farm, all of which are fenced in
to keep them in. This means that their numbers have to be limited to the number
that the land and plants can sustain. If the number of game expands beyond the
carrying capacity of the land, their numbers have to be reduced accordingly.
This takes place either by re-location, natural causes or by culling. If this
balance is not maintained, the land will be ruined, turn into a semi-desert or
full desert and will not be able to sustain animal life in the long term.
By way of a well managed culling process, the game is culled to prevent
overgrazing and soil erosion on the one hand and to provide valuable meat and
protein supplies to the local population on the other. Only a limited quota of
between 2-3% is allocated to the trophy hunting. The outfitters and hunting
guides have to be registered and are constantly controlled by the local
representative of the Department of Nature Conservation. The income derived
from trophy hunting is finally re-invested into nature conservation. Initially
it provides jobs for the conservationists, food for the local communities and
in the long term more land can be set aside for the game in order to sustain
greater numbers.
Hunting in South Africa is subject to very strict laws. But they protect the
hunter and the conservationists alike and thus make it possible that a wide
range of game can be hunted. The dream of hunting the "big five", Lion.
Leopard, Buffalo, Rhino and Elephant, can only be realised in South Africa. |
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