Posted 10:16 pm Sunday, January 25, 2009
Outfitter Says African Nations Still Safe For Safaris
Perception can become reality if it were not for one thing, the truth.
With prices of a safari running roughly the same as a premium elk or even some white-tailed deer hunts, Africa has legitimately found its way onto every hunter's wish list. Even in an era of a limping world-wide economy, bookings remain high.
However, some American hunters are cautious about pulling the trigger on a trip because of concerns of political instability across the continent. Based on news reports it would seem all of Africa is caught up in civil war, made up of nations without leadership or the home of pirates.
Mark Haldane is a native South African, who has held a guide license since 1986 and has been an outfitter and professional hunter since the mid-1990s in three countries - South Africa, Botswana and Mozambique. He will soon be opening a concession in fourth country, Uganda, one that for years carried the tag of a war-torn nation. Haldane has seen both the interest in safaris skyrocket and the changing political climate combine without clash or conflict.
Haldane, who was in Tyler last weekend to visit with clients as a follow-up to the Dallas Safari Club show, said hunters often start their African hunting in South Africa where prices are about a third lower than in other countries. There, the political hot button has been the government taking land from whites who have farmed it for years and returning it to the families of the original owners. It has been an orderly but ongoing process.
SIGHTS OF AFRICA: Wildlife, such as this reedbuck, and the local people are a common sight for hunters on safari across Africa.
"There were a lot of areas (historically) designated for blacks. If over the years it was wanted for white farms (the black owners) were moved. They have been able to put in land claims for return of the land. The program has been slow to move because there are a lot of claims. Some of them are not true," Haldane explained.
In most cases, he added, the land has not actually switched hands, but instead royalties are paid based on production in a manner not unlike oil royalties in Texas. In other cases those with valid claims are accepting a fair market payment for their land.
A bigger change under way in South Africa is the removal of high fences that have dominated hunting ranches in past decades. In their places are multiple-owner land cooperatives where acreage is pooled to create a more wild-like hunting opportunity.
"They are dropping fences and adding more and more acres. In the 1980s the ranches were something like 2,000 acres. It is not unusual now to find 10,000 and there is one that is 83,000 acres," Haldane explained.
The outfitter said the impetus to remove the fences has come from the government and is a backlash to canned lion hunts. Haldane, who refers to himself as an anti when it comes to the canned hunts, said animals now must have been released at least two years before being hunted in South Africa.
Haldane started outfitting bird hunts in South Africa through his Bird Hunters Africa, working in cooperation with other big game operations. Through the years he added two more companies, Game Hunters Africa and Zambeze Delta Safaris, that specialize in big game hunts for everything from plains game to the Big Five. No where has he see change more than in Mozambique where he moved into two concessions covering more than 1.2 million acres on the backend of a 20-year civil war.
During the conflict that ended Portuguese rule much of the nation's wildlife was killed to feed soldiers and civilians.
"In the two blocks I am in it was pretty much spared because of the habitat. It is so hard to get (the animals) out. The core was preserved and the way it has come back is so unbelievable," Haldane said.
With the support of a stable government, the outfitter is now seeing improved cooperation in controlling poaching, which remains the biggest challenge to wildlife across African.
"It used to be when we took them to the police when we left we would see them walking back to their village. Now we are seeing a strong move to support wildlife. They are seeing it as an asset," Haldane said.
Like other outfitters Haldane still employees his own 22-man anti-poaching team.
The Mozambique government does see the economic importance of hunting to the country. Along with the anti-poaching team Haldane employees an additional 15-man staff to support hunters. Combined, those 37 staff members support 1,500 dependants.
And his companies do even more.
"We charge a community fee of $315 per hunter and we double that. We use that money for things like schools, water wells and a corn meal grinder," Haldane said.
"We charge a community fee of $315 per hunter and we double that. We use that money for things like schools, water wells and a corn meal grinder," Haldane said.
Botswana may be a non-hunting or limited-hunting country. Haldane said the key reason is because the oil- and diamond-rich nation doesn't need the money safaris bring. Although hunting is still permitted on a limited basis, Haldane said the country is the only one on the continent that been able to profitably build up a photo safari business.
Not only is politics changing the face of hunting in Africa. Haldane has always targeted the American market, but sees a growing number of hunters coming from Europe. Currently 70 percent of his clients still come from the U.S., with about 80 percent of those coming from Texas and Florida.
Another big change is the number of women taking safaris.
"I would say every third hunt has a woman in it," Haldane said.
While the governments of the African nations may not operate as smoothly as Americans are accustomed to, Haldane said with the proper preparation and planning the hurdles are manageable.
For more information on Haldane's operations, go to www.gamehuntersafrica.com or www.birdhuntersafrica.com.
