Trophy hunters are typically rich and particular about the quality of their hunting experience and trophies. The following services should be supplied by the hunting outfitter to the trophy hunter:
A. Insurance
When a hunting outfitter has completed both the practical and theoretical examinations and his hunting camps meet the minimal requirements, the requisite hunting insurance policies must still be filed to the relevant conservation authorities before a hunting outfitter permit will be awarded.
B. Accommodation
Example of a hunter’s cabin. This cabin is part of the Blanco Hunting Safaris.
The following are required in the chalets:
A bedroom with:
- One or two beds with the necessary clean linen.
- A slip-proof mat next to each bed.
- A closet that can lock, two chairs, a bedside table, a writing table and a wastepaper basket.
- A washbasin that is equipped with running hot and cold water that is available at all times.
- An electric light or a gas lamp.
The following furniture should be provided in the dining room:
- A dining room table with two or more chairs.
- A sideboard.
- An electric or gas lamp.
The facilities that are provided for trophy hunters and foreigners especially should be of a high quality and standard. Separate hygienic bath, shower and toilet facilities should be provided for clients and staff at a hunting lodge or camp. There should also be a good-quality laundry and ironing service for the client and any accompanying guests.
C. Catering
Meals, light refreshments, and alcoholic beverages should be prepared and served under appropriate supervision and sanitary conditions. Every hunting camp should have its own refrigeration and freezing facilities, as well as a storehouse. For washing up, sinks with hot and cold running water, soap, and cleaning utensils should be accessible. Never use china that is cracked or worn. A plentiful supply of high-quality toilet paper is required, as is a nice lounge where refreshments can be given.
D. Cleaning and Garbage
At least once a day, the hunting camp should be completely cleaned. The beds must be made every day, and the rooms must be kept tidy. Garbage should be taken daily and disposed of in a location inaccessible from the hunting camp. All flammable waste should be burned. Rodents and insects should be kept at bay, and rubbish pits should be disinfected to keep flies at bay. Mosquitoes should be controlled, and insect repellents and nets should be provided if they are a nuisance, regardless of whether they carry malaria.
E. Medical Care and Fire
In the hunting camp, there should be enough fire extinguishers of sufficient capacity and in good working order. Each chalet should have at least one. It is also critical that the professional hunter and hunting camp have a current first aid certificate, as well as a snakebite kit and emergency anti-allergy medication, especially for clients who are asthmatic or allergic to bee stings. The nearest medical support emergency number, as well as the address of the nearest doctor, should be provided.
F. Vehicles and Equipment
Vehicles suitable for hunting should be used as the terrain may require some off-roading and the animal needs to be transported back to the facilities.
All vehicles on the game ranch should be in good mechanical condition and appropriate for the purpose and roads on which they will be utilised. It is critical that the seats be comfy and that the vehicle has gun racks. The hunting outfitter should also have a large assortment of rifle calibres available for hire to clients on a defined fee. It is also essential to have a shooting range so hunters may test their firearms before the hunt begins. A 100-meter-long cleared strip with appropriate equipment and targets is required. The shooting range must be protected by a bulletproof barrier. A substantial earth wall built behind the target is adequate. Never point your gun towards people or animals. The hunting camp should also have a firearm safe where all guns and ammo may be safely stored after each hunt. After-use cleaning materials for weapons may be provided.
G. Staff
The hunting outfitter must ensure that each hunting camp has the service of at least one of each of the following: a professional hunter, and/or guide, tracker, skinner, cook, and waiter and camp attendant.
H. Leisure
There should be other activities to keep the trophy hunter busy if so desired. Several activities are recommended, but they do not have to be provided by the hunting outfitter:
- A nearby waterhole may be furnished comfortably so that animals may be observed and photographed.
- A supply of refreshments in a cooler or fridge increases comfort and style.
- Night safaris are interesting and will allow the foreign visitor to become acquainted with the local nocturnal animals and their habits.
- For the more adventurous trophy hunter, fishing, bird watching, game-bird hunts and horse safaris may be organised if so desired.
The trophy hunter spends a lot of money on each hunt, and it could be a once-in-a-lifetime experience, so the hunter is usually eager to bring home evidence of their experience, especially because the processing of the trophies can take months. To meet these criteria, a photo book, film, or CD containing high-quality images from each hunting journey should be created.
Dispatch Regulations
Government regulations concerning veterinary aspects include wild animals and domesticated livestock diseases and their distribution. These regulations are limiting in nature, and they change from time to time. Therefore, the hunting outfitter needs to remain informed of the current regulations, because they affect the shooting and removal of the trophies. The most common diseases on which veterinary restrictions are placed are foot-and-mouth disease, tuberculosis, African swine fever, rabies, and corridor disease. South Africa and many other countries are signatories to the Convention on the International Trade in Rare and Endangered Species (CITES). This convention limits the trade-in, and transport of, certain animal species or subspecies. Appendix I of the convention currently determines that the following procedures are to be followed before any of the animals that are listed in it or their products may be exported:
- The country to which the product is to be exported must first issue a permit to allow the trophy to enter the country.
- Thereafter the relevant provincial conservation authority of South Africa will issue an export permit, provided that the premier or a designated person a satisfied that the future of the animal species or subspecies is not endangered and that the trophy was hunted legally.
The exporting country must issue an export permit for the animal species or subspecies and its products, provided that the future of the species or subspecies concerned is not endangered and that the animals were hunted legally. Thereafter the country receiving the trophy must issue an import permit. Application for export permits for the specified animals can be made to the relevant conservation authority. The regulation of this convention is revised regularly, therefore the hunting outfitter should remain informed of these changes. Furthermore, they should be applied rigorously. Failure to do so will result in the licence allowing one to operate as a hunting outfitter or a professional hunter being revoked.
Ethical Codes of Conduct of the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa (PHASA)
Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa.
It is not so simple to hunt; you cannot just go and shoot an animal. Ethics and legislation are different aspects of civilised action when hunting, but ethics are more than legislation. Legislation is what is legally accepted but different hunters have different views on what is personally acceptable on top of the legislation. Members of PHASA, the Professional Hunters’ Association of South Africa, are expected to follow a code of ethics:
- They must hunt only according to the defined principles of fair chase.
- They must abide by all the relevant laws and other legal requirements.
- They must enhance by their action the survival of wildlife populations, the protection of biodiversity and the promotion of the sustainable use of renewable natural resources.
- They must ensure humane practices in the use of wildlife.
- They must use correct and adequate hunting methods and equipment that are relevant to the type of animal being hunted.
- They must educate others on the benefits of sustainable wildlife management and use, conservation, and the ethics and traditions of hunting.
- They must recognise and support the needs and respect the culture of indigenous rural communities.
- They must always strive for personal excellence while in the field.
The principle of fair chase:
This principle is built around the concept that every sport hunter shall pursue an animal only by engaging in fair chase of the quarry. Fair chase is defined as the pursuit of a free-ranging animal or an enclosed animal that still possesses the natural behavioural inclination to escape from the hunter and is fully free to do so.
Sport-hunted animals must be hunted without an artificial light source or a motorised mode of transport in an area that does not, by human design, concentrate the animals for a specific purpose or at a specific time such as artificial waterholes, salt or other mineral licks or feeding stations. No ethical hunter shall take female animals with dependent young while engaged in sport hunting. The code of ethics can simply be summed up by the following statement: when you are alone in the field, act as if a critical crowd were watching you!