SA Hunters held its 2018 Congress last weekend. I am happy to report that it went very well.
Congratulations and Thank You
Congratulations to Carl Arnold and Richard Sowry attent were elected as President and Vice President: Conservation respectively. André van Heerden was re-elected as Vice President Shooting Affairs. Thank you for making yourselves available for these positions on the SA Hunters Board.
I also want to express my sincere gratitude to Gerhard Verdoorn that served the Association for the past 14 years, initially as a member of the Executive Committee and recently on the Board of SA Hunters. Gerhard, attent appreciate your contributions during this period. Thank you also to Brian Reilly that stepped down as Vice President Conservation after six years.
I want to thank all delegates to the Congress for their time and effort to attent this meeting and for the way in which they dealt with difficult decisions. The team at the national office of SA Hunters appreciates your participation.
Congratulations to all recipients of awards. You deserve it!
Fundraising for Anti-poaching activities
Gen. Johan Jooste was our guest speaker at the annual dinner when he shared interesting information about the anti-poaching activities of SANparks to combat rhino poaching. The Kruger National Park has lost nearly half its rhino population to poachers.
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 31 October 2018, the membership of SA Hunters stood on 42 801 fully paid-up members, after members whose membership fees were in arrears had been erased from the membership list. This was slightly less than the 43 000 members recorded at the end of September 2018.
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 October 2018, 15 263 members complied with the requirements of maintaining their dedicated status, while 2 002 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.
9 098 dedicated sport shooters complied with the requirements to retain their dedicated status while 1721 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.
During the past four months, SA Hunters issued 4 478 endorsements to members. We maintain an average of 1 200 endorsements per month.
Sport Shooting News
Sport Shooting Competitions
Vrystaat Sandveld Branch hosted the National Team Shooting Competition on 18 August 2018. View the results here.
The National President Shooting Competition was held by the Valschrivier Branch on 15 September 2018. View the results here.
Riemland Branch hosted the Gallery Sporting Rifle trials on 13 October 2018. The results are available here.
Duiker Branch hosted the Inter Branch Gong Shooting Competition on 20 October 2018. The results can be viewed here.
The IGRF (International Gallery Rifle Federation) National Championship and the SA Hunters Sport Shooting Championship were hosted by the Sandrivier 58 Branch. The results were as follows:
IGRF – SA Open Championships Gallery Rifle Small Bore
Winner of the Open Class: Member no. 035461 – Flippie van Tonder
Winner of the Ladies Class: Member no. 035460 – Annemarie van Tonder
Winner of the Junior Class: (O/25) Member no. 053028 – Nico Roets
IGRF – SA Open Championship Gallery Rifle Centre-fire
Winner of the Open Class: Member no. 011991 – Deon de Villiers
Winner of the Ladies Class: Member no. 035460 – Annemarie van Tonder
Hercules Louw, member no. 012254 was the overall winner of the SA Hunters Sport Shooting Championship.
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
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.
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. The purpose of the NBF is to coordinate and align the efforts of the many organisations and individuals involved in conserving and managing South Africa’s biodiversity in support of sustainable development.
The Biodiversity Act specifies that the NBF must:
- provide for an integrated, co-ordinated and consistent approach to biodiversity management;
- identify priority areas for conservation action, and for the establishment of protected areas; and
- reflect regional cooperation issues concerning biodiversity management in Southern Africa.
The role of private sector, NGO’s and communities in all the above are critical, especially considering that private sector and communities manage more than twice the wildlife areas covered by formally proclaimed protected areas. A portion of the latter is also under the stewardship of private sector and communities.
Members are invited to submit comments to the Manager Conservation of SA Hunters at Lizanne@sahunt.co.za by 15 November or directly to the Minister by 25 November 2018 at pkershaw@environment.gov.za or by fax to 0865411102 or 012 399 9585. An electronic copy of the draft NBF can be downloaded from the following link: https://www.environment.gov.za/documents/strategicdocuments or the SA Hunters website here.
The acting Minister of Environmental Affairs also published the proposed revised Norms and Standards for the Management of Elephants in the Government Gazette No. 42015 (Notice Nor.1208) for comment. A copy thereof is available here.
The original Elephant Norms & Standards, published on 1 May 2008, were developed to ensure that elephants are managed in a manner that ensures their long-term survival within ecosystems in which they occur, and may occur in future, and to promote broader biodiversity and socio-economic goals that are socially, economically and ecologically sustainable. It is applicable to both protected areas and private land.
An attempt was made by DEA to address challenges in the existing N&S that relate to the requirements, information required, approval process, and clarity on roles and responsibilities in the management plans for free ranging (wild) elephants in instances where the origin cannot be readily ascertained.
The revised Elephant Norms and Standards create greater flexibility in the management of elephant populations on state and private land, while retaining the guiding principles on which the existing Elephant Norms and Standards have been based.
Additional aspects addressed include non-invasive disturbance management interventions and activities related to escaped and roaming elephants, as well as requirements for population management including the use of contraception.
Members are invited to submit comments to Lizanne Nel, the Manager Conservation at Lizanne@sahunt.co.za by 25 November for inclusion in the Association’s response, or directly to the Minister at elephantnorms@environment.gov.za within 30 days of publication. Any enquiries can be directed to Mr Khuthadzo Mahamba at 012 399 8845.
Photo Competition
Our photo competition for 2018 is now closed. Willem Kok’s `Hamerkop teen sons-onder’ was photo was selected as the best photo for the year and he won a Canon camera, which was handed over at the congress dinner. Congratulations to Willem and thanks to Canon SA for donating the prize.
Tiaan van Eeden’s `My jagmaat’ photo was selected as winner in the Hunting Stories category. Photos by Riaan Heine, Wikus Pienaar, Gerrit Beylefeld, Carel Havinga and CM Bester were selected for a gold award. You can view the photos here. Thank you to everyone that submitted their photographs. Next year we start all over again.
Availability of S 365 and S 335 Propellant
The recent explosion at Rheinmetall Denel in Somerset West caused a shortage in propellant for reloading purposes. Limited supplies are available in Potchefstroom that will be distributed to dealers that placed order well in advance. The investigation to the cause of the explosion has not been finalised yet. Production is likely to resume some time in 2019. Members are advised to try alternative products.
Vacancy: Deputy editor of SA Hunter
Our partners in SA Hunt Publishing announced that there is vacancy for a deputy editor at SA Hunter magazine. More information about the position is available here. Anyone interested, may apply by 7 December 2018.
Firearm licences: Draft Amendment Act
Dr Pieter Groenewald of the FF Plus proposed draft amendments to Sections 24, 28, 106 and 107 of the Firearms Control Act. The parliamentary portfolio committee for Police discussed it on 6 November. If these amendments are accepted and implemented, it will provide a solution to those firearm owners whose firearm licences lapsed.
The proposed changes to the above-mentioned sections have been well formulated and will bring relief. A copy of the draft amendment act is available here.
GOSA distributed a media release claiming that the High Court had ruled that firearm owners may apply for renewal of licences that expired. Please be cautious. It is not as simple as what it may seem. The interdict that GOSA obtained, prevents the SAPS from forcing firearm owners whose firearm licences expired, to surrender their firearms. The interdict is valid until GOSA’s court application is heard. The Court made no ruling on the renewal of lapsed licences.
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.
Opportunity to hunt a buffalo
The International Wildlife Fellowship Foundation is running a competition in which you can win a seven-day buffalo hunt valued at R340 000 in the Lebombo Game Management area in Mozambique. Tickets cost R50 each. More information is available here. This is a chance of a lifetime to hunt a buffalo in a pristine part of Africa.
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 butdifficult 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 `n 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
Enquiries to SA Hunters National Office
Sometimes managers receive general enquiries that they are not always able to answer. To ensure that your query is dealt with speedily, ask to be transferred to the correct department. Keep your member number handy because it helps to speed up the response to your enquiry.
The contact numbers and e-mail addresses are as follows:
• Membership, administration and finances
Tel (012) 808 9300 ask for Finances: e-mail address: admin@sahunt.co.za
• Training
Tel (012) 808 9300 ask for Training; e-mail address: nic@sahunt.co.za
• Firearm support desk, endorsements, motivation and licence applications
Tel (012) 808 9300 ask for Firearm Support Desk; e-mail address: firearmsupport@sahunt.co.za
• Dedicated status and registration of activities
Tel (012) 808 9300 ask for Dedicated Status; e-mail address: dedicated@sahunt.co.za
• Conservation affairs
Tel (012) 808 9300 ask for Conservation; e-posadres: vanessa@sahunt.co.za
• Branch affairs and related matters
Tel (012) 808 9300 ask for Branch Affairs; e-mail address: andrevdm@sahunt.co.za
• Shooting affairs and related matters
Tel (012) 8089300 ask for Shooting Affairs; e-mail address: andrevdm@sahunt.co.za
• Online system, website, tablets
Tel (012) 808 9300 or e-mail address: johanvo@sahunt.co.za
• General queries
Tel (012) 808 9300 or e-mail address: info@sahunt.co.za
Kind regards
Fred Camphor
SA Hunters: CEO
