The year has come to its end. This is the last scheduled newsletter for 2018. In about two weeks, South Africa closes for the holidays. Just before we all wind down the year, herewith a few final matters for noting.
Christmas message from the President
The president, Carl Arnold, compiled an uplifting Christmas message to members. It is available here.
Election of Vise President
At the first meeting of the new Board of SA Hunters held on 15 November 2018 Basie Berg was elected as Deputy President, as provided for in the Constitution. Basie also retains the portfolio of Hunting Affairs. Congratulations on your election in this role Basie.
Fundraising for Anti-poaching activities
Jan Lubbe of Sons of Guns and Johannes Coertze of Formalito donated a CZ .375 H+H that SA Hunters will raffle in a competition in 2019 to raise funds for the rangers involved in anti-poaching activities in SANParks. This will give members the opportunity to win this firearm in exchange for purchasing a raffle ticket.
Membership numbers and dedicated status
On 30 November 2018, the membership of SA Hunters stood on 42 393 fully paid-up members, after members whose membership fees were in arrears had been erased from the membership list.
Remember, that any member of SA Hunters that recruits ten or more members for SA Hunters in a year, qualify for free membership for the following year. Branches that recruit the same number of members also benefit by receiving a portion of the membership fees, over and above the branch subsidy for members.
At the end of November 2018, 15 990 members complied with the requirements of maintaining their dedicated status, while 1191 needed to register additional activities. We will send SMSs to these members soon to remind them to register activities retrospectively, or to register no activity reports.
9 600 dedicated sport shooters complied with the requirements for retaining their dedicated status while 1158 members needed to register activities retrospectively or register no activity reports. These members will also receive SMSs to remind them.
Some members have both dedicated hunter and sport shooter statuses but tend to forget to maintain requirements for both. We remind members that they must comply with the requirements of both.
Safe-keeping of firearms while travelling
With the start of the holiday season, many members will be holidaying away from home. Ensure that all firearms are safely locked away before you leave home. Take the keys with you. Do not leave the keys to the safe behind. Remember, that a vehicle is not a safe place to store a firearm, and neither is the space under the seat. When carrying a firearm, it must be covered in a bag or holster.
Sport Shooting News
Members that want to participate in the 2019 IGRF Gallery Sporting Rifle and Sport Shooting activities must register now. The registration form is available here.
Hand delivery of SA Hunter
We previously reported on the home delivery of SA Hunter magazines. This is more reliable than the Post Office. However, it relies on the correct street addresses on the system. Members wishing to have their magazines delivered by hand at their homes, must make sure that their residential addresses are correct on the system. Please send an e-mail to admin@sahunt.co.za to instruct us to deliver the magazine by hand.
Hunting affairs
New Manager Hunting Affairs
SA Hunters appointed a new Manager Hunting Affairs. Boetie Kirchner will take charge of this position from January 2019 and will be available at the office from 7 January 2019. Boetie has been trained as a professional hunter and also worked in this capacity for some years. His e-mail address is boetiek@sahunt.co.za and his mobile number is 082 770 9387.
We welcome Boetie to the office of SA Hunters, and we look forward to new ideas and suggestions. Boetie was the previous chairman of the Griekwaland West Branch in Kimberley and is familiar with the activities of SA Hunters and the way we conduct our affairs.
Hunting of dangerous game
Most members are aware of the training that SA Hunters and the Wildlife College offer in the hunting of dangerous game. The training schedule for 2019 is now available. It focuses on the hunting of elephant, buffalo, lion, hyena and leopard. Only six entries can be accommodated per training session. Members that want to undergo training, are advised to form a group and enter together. More information is available here.
Buffalo hunt
The International Wildlife Fellowship Foundation is running a competition at R50 a ticket. The first prize is a seven-day buffalo hunt in the Lebombo Game Management are in Mozambique to the value of R340 000. This is an opportunity of a life time to hunt on a near pristine part of Africa More information is available here.
Irresponsible Hunting of Elephant
In the recent past there were two reports in the press on elephant hunted in private reserves to the west of the Kruger National Park. While SA Hunters clearly does not have access to the facts it seems clear from the press reports that in both instances the hunts were undertaken in an irresponsible manner. SA Hunters issued a press statement in this regard, a copy of which is available here.
Conservation
The Department of Environmental Affairs published two policy documents in the Government Gazette for public comment.
The Minister of Environmental Affairs published the Draft National Biodiversity Framework as required by the National Environmental Management Biodiversity Act, 2004 (Act No 10 of 2004) for public comment. SA Hunters consolidated the comment from members and added further input. SA Hunters’ comment is available here.
The acting Minister of Environmental Affairs published the proposed revised Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephant in the Government Gazette No 42015 (Notice No.1208). SA Hunters also compiled combined comment with additions, which is available here.
Lizanne Nel, Manager Conservation at SA Hunters will attend a meeting of the IUCN’s African-Eurasian Migratory Waterbird Agreement to be held in Durban from 4 to 7 December 2018. This meeting will also attend to the impact of lead on aquatic birds. The well-known Dr Slang Viljoen will represent SA Hunters on the responsible management and utilisation of huntable bird species.
New branch
The 81st Branch of SA Hunters was established at Springbok in the far Northwest. Congratulations and welcome to the Namakwa Branch under the chairmanship of Carel Oberholzer. We trust that the members of this branch will give it their full support.
Availability of S 365 en S 335 propellant
Rheinmetall Denel confirmed that propellant for reloading will only be available in 2019. Members are advised to try alternative products. We will inform members about the availability of locally produced propellant as soon as we received confirmation in that regard.
Firearm licences: Amendment Act
The Portfolio Committee on Police discussed the firearms amendment act submitted by Dr Pieter Groenewald of the FF Plus. The deciding vote by the chairman of the committee prevented this amendment act from proceeding. The office of the commissioner of Police referred to an amendment act that was being considered by the Minister of Police. We will keep members informed of any further developments in this regard.
Renewal of Competency
We remind members to check the validity of their competency certificates. Remember that competency expires at the same time as the licence of the relevant firearm type. If your handgun is licensed in terms of Section 13 for self-defence purposes, the licence is valid for 5 years. When that licence expires, your competency certificate for a handgun also expires, except if the handgun was licensed in terms of Section 16, which makes it valid for 10 years.
Make sure that you know when your competency expires and apply for renewal in time. Should the opportunity arise to renew lapsed firearm licences, it will not help you if your competency has expired.
Reading material
During a recent visit to Howick in the Natal Midlands, I came across the book Macpherson’s Elephant written by Edward Ostrosky. It is a novel based on his experiences as founder game ranger in the Tembe Elephant Park in the north of Kwazulu-Natal. It is an easy read but difficult to put down.
Ed sells copies of his book at R299 each, including postage to members of SA Hunters. Members interested in purchasing a copy, must provide their membership number with their order to qualify for the free postage. More information is available here.
Fanus Venter, a member of the Grysbok Branch in the southern Cape wrote a booklet Wat maak ? Jaggeweer Akkuraat. The booklet describes step by step and in layman’s language the different factors that affect the accuracy of a hunting rifle. The regular price of the book is R250, but Fanus is making the book available to members of SA Hunters at the reduced price of R230, postage included, until the end of December 2018. Order it directly from Fanus at jaggeweerakkuraat@gmail.com Send your membership number with your order to qualify for free postage.
Both these books will make excellent Christmas presents for hunters.
History of SA Hunters
SA Hunters will be 70 years old in 2019. We have made good progress with the collection of information for the memorial book. We received a stack of documents from a member that he had discovered among his late father’s possessions. One of the interesting documents among them was the financial statements of the Association from 1968 when the total annual income of the Association was R300. Membership fees was R6 per year. Even then members complained that it was too high. Please send any interesting information about the Association that you might come across to Prof. Potgieter at pieter.potgieter@safricom.co.za
Commercial affairs
As usual, we include links to information on our website about special offers applicable to members of SA Hunters. Click on the relevant link for more information.
The following dealers offer special benefits to members of SA Hunters.
- Toyota SA
- Westvaal Nelspruit
- Hinterland Groep
- Wildman Hunting and Outdoor
- Hokaai Slaghuis
- Die Wildshoekie Vleismark
- LAVA Vakuumverpakking
- Selftrack
- MAINSU Power Generators
- Heartech Ear Protection
- Reloading courses offered by Cassie Nienaber
- Exhaust systems from De Graaf Auto Centre in Van der Hoff Road, Pretoria
- Helle knives
Click here for more information on any of the above.
Ivory Project
The ivory knife project is back on track after we fell behind with orders and deliveries. The ivory project comprises knives with knife handles made from ivory that SA Hunters inherited from Nico van Rooyen. Place your orders as soon as possible to avoid missing out on this opportunity. Only 150 knives will be made. 64 orders have already been received.
Interested persons can deposit R5 500 in the bank account of SA Hunters. The account is with ABSA and the number is 01443990077; and the branch code is 632005. Use knife and your mobile number as reference. Send proof of payment to admin@sahunt.co.za
SA Hunters Office closed in December 2018
SA Hunters office will close on Friday 7 December 2018 and reopen on 7 January 2019.
SA Hunters is subject to the Basic Conditions of Employment Act that makes provision for compulsory leave for all its staff members. The server will be switched-off during this period. Members can contact any of the managers with an emergency during this time.
Festive season greetings
It gives me great pleasure to wish all our members peace and joy during this Christmas season. Drive safely.
Kind regards
Fred Camphor
SA Hunters: CEO
