I received this interesting letter today....(Remember: You saw it first here!)

ZIMBABWE PARKS AND WILDLIFE MANAGEMENT AUTHORITY
HEAD OFFICE:
P.O. Box CV 140 Botanical Gardens Cau69WIIY
Borrowdale Rd/Sandringham Drive Harare
Telephone: 263-04-792786-9 707624-9.703376.792731
Fax: 263-04-724914. 792762 726069

e-mail: natparks@africaonline.co.zw
e-mail: nparks@africaonline.co.zw

Telegrams: 'PARKLIFE HARARE"

All Correspondence be addressed to the Director-General



Re.f: D//221

20 January 2005

The Chairman .

Zimbabwe Indigenous Safari Operators Association



The Chairman :

Zimbabwe Association of Tour & Safari. Operators



Re: BANNING OF OUT OF AFRICA'S OPERATIONS IN ZIMBABWE

We Would like to refer to recent internet reports emanating from Oscar Nyathi which claim that Out of Africa 's Operations in Zimbabwe are legal and that the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority found Out of Africa's operations not in contravention of the laws of Zimbabwe.

Please be informed that Oscar Nyathi's statement is completely incorrect and that his personal views are out right contrary to the official position and views of the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. Nyathi's statement must be dismissed with the contempt it deserves.

In terms Parks and Wildlife Act Chapter 20:14, Out of Africa is not allowed any hunting nor any safari operation in the whole country of Zimbabwe. The company and all its staff members are not allowed to operate or conduct any business in Zimbabwe without the requisite licenses and/or permits from the appropriate authorities in Zimbabwe in terms of the laws and regulations of Zimbabwe.

Out of Africa was formally advised of this position in our letter dated 22 September 2004 and our further communication to the company dated 13 October 2004. In which we further clarified to the company the above position and pointing to the legal requirements which Out of Africa has not proved to have satisfied.

Please be guided accordingly.


Dr. M.Z.MTSAMBIWA (MBA)

DIRECTOR-GENERAL

Ann,

I wonder how many Zim hunts they will be offering at Reno! I see they still have ads in magazines...

Thanks for the up date!

I am just waiting for them to give SCI free hunts in Zimbabwe to auction

Ann,

Thank you for that letter of confirmation. Anyone concerned that the allegations against Out of Africa are mere rumor and innuendo can now lay those concerns to rest.

Everyone going to the convention should copy this letter and drop it off at their booth at the convention.

Further, this should be brought to the attention of the auction committee immediately. Not just from me, but from all of you.

CanadianLeft, you make a good point.

HunterJim, can you make the SCI Auction committee aware of this letter?

Great to see this posting. When i was in Zimbabwe this past September, there were some Out of Africa trucks at a roadside waypoint, refueling. The talk among the PHs and the outfitter's rep traveling with us was that they not only hunted taken-over white farms, but that the real damage is that they were paying little attention to quotas. In the US, we call that poaching for the market. And they were smuggling out trophies for sale by putting them in concealed tanks underneath their vehicles.

Whatever the facts are, there clearly was no love lost between the Zim hunting community and the OOA folks. No bantering or visiting whatsoever - quite unique in my experience for anyone in Zim that was hunting to be so clearly ostracized, and at a roadside stop to boot. The hunting community in Zim is pretty tolerant, in general, so this made quite an impression on me.

Convinced me then, and I'm glad to see the official stance on this. I will avoid OOA just on general principles, irrespective of what SCI says.

Somehow I have a feeling the SCI and its officials will still manage to turn a "blind eye" to the situation...I guess nobody wants to slaughter the cash cow thats lining SCI's pockets..

Actually the cynic in me wonders if certain people within SCI higher echelons don't have some sort of personal vested interest in OoA?

Regards,

Pete

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Somehow I have a feeling the SCI and its officials will still manage to turn a "blind eye" to the situation...I guess nobody wants to slaughter the cash cow thats lining SCI's pockets..

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After seeing the lack of bids on a recent auction of an OOA hunt donation I would say that cash cow is pretty sick and not long for this world.

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After seeing the lack of bids on a recent auction of an OOA hunt donation I would say that cash cow is pretty sick and not long for this world.

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Did the hunt sell at all, or just for a low price?

Was it a Zim hunt they were auctioning?

Why not just let SCI try to auction these hunts so someone can immediatly stand up in front of god and the world at the convention and wave this letter around to everyone so they can be shown to all as crooks. Someone needs to contact the DSC and ask them their response.

If a hunting club allows these auctions to go ahead, even with letters like that posted here, and if some poor bloke pays for the hunt, what is the legal liability of the club?

We keep hearing about the amount of 'evidence' needed. In actual cases to date what has constituted adequate evidence?

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Originally posted by NitroX:
If a hunting club allows these auctions to go ahead, even with letters like that posted here, and if some poor bloke pays for the hunt, what is the legal liability of the club?

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If the hunter sues the club, the club is likely toast.

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We keep hearing about the amount of 'evidence' needed. In actual cases to date what has constituted adequate evidence?

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The legal standard will be "a preponderance of the evidence" in a civil case. In all likelihood the oral testimony of an employee of National Parks at trial would be enough to swing the case. And I bet such a person could be found if the litigant were willing to cover travel expenses.

Who would be willing to testify from Zim... Well the Minister of Environment & Tourism and the Perminant Secretary for the ministry. What ever the minister thinks of OoA is irrelevant since he had orders to ban them from our state secrect police (CIO). (also his brother in law spent two months in jail here for not being paid by Out of Africa in full for hunts in Makuti). The Director General wasn't overly willing as there was considerable political force being applied to him from some of Out of Africa's local partners (General Giwenga, Comander of our Army for one), but the minister insisted. He also insisted that the investigations officer, Oscar Nyathi who wrote an internal memmo that was leaked (see earlier posts on this forum saying OOA were "cleared") was removed from the investigations branch.

The next trick is to see how Out of Africa get their trophhies for 2004 out of Zim. Certainly the trophies from all the hunts they conducted on Unit 4 in Matetsi are impounded. Don't know about the others but as parks warned SCI last year that OOA were not legal to operate in Zim parks will not be lifting a finger to "facilitate" clients getting their trophies.

We have many problems but slowly we are doing the right thing

TO be quite frank from my association with AR over the years and the (combined collective knowledge) of our guests I personaly DONT have any sympathy with any hunter whom ignores smoke and fire and says, to hell with the good advice, does his own thing and hunts regardless.

As I have said many a time and I will repeat myself again. You can legislate for almost anything in this world to try and prevent a problem situation, but you cant legislate for fools or foolish behavior.

I cant be much clearer than that

Happy hunting

Peter

I have not enough vocabulary to thank and congratulate all the guys who pushed hard to reach such a happy end. The triumph of Justice is always pure jubilation.
Concerning SCI attitude, it’s shocking. Endlessly the hunters are ignominiously pushed onto the scaffold. Hunting requires respecting countless regulations and ethic ( Balla Balla is dead right).
There is a dictum saying ԠJulius Ceasar’s wife must be irreproachable as wellâ€. The reverse is true concerning SCI.
If we want to remain credible our authorities must be fully credible.

The only auction hunts I have seen OoA offer were the two hunter- two non hunter RSA package with some small plains game speices. At least these are what get offered to SCI Detroit and SCI Flint.

I will make sure this letter gets out to the people in charge at both chapters. The problem is, again, OoA is offering RSA hunts so these appear legal. However, SCI keeps ignoring that there is proof OoA hunts illegally in Zim.

Concerning the Detroit auction, I think the OoA hunt sold for $1000. This is much lower than past years and I am going to guess it was purchased by a attending guest who is not an SCI member.

I'm not trying to be a fly in the ointment here....but which letter from Zim is authentic? Which "official" is truly official?

I already hear rumblings of lawyers wearing out fax machines as Reno approaches....

Stand by for a real train wreck on this entire deal!

Matt

No doubt there will be numerious current AR menbers at Rene and I have no doubt some will walk up to the OOA booth if they are there and or to some person of STANDING involved officially in the SCI SHOW and ask some questions as outlined in general discussion on these FORUMS then we might just might have a bit more insight into events as they unfold.

Regardles of what (us fools on this forum) or anyone more esteemed might say, there will be hunters blindly or with proir knowledge HUNTING or BOOKING

If the US ever goes after one of OoA's clients under the Lacey Act, it will certainly shut down a big part of their business. Nothing like having your trophies and guns confiscated plus a big fine (maybe even jail).

Doesn't OoA have a US partner who is a lawyer in Kansas City?

Regards,

Terry

TC,

Do you have the contact info for the US partner?

How to tell an official government letter from a "memo"? All official correspondence must be signed either by the Director-General or, after the persons name and rank FOR The Director General. Oscar's letter "clearing" OOA was not signed for the DG. Also the DG will be in Reno (on the HHK Booth) so anybody can ask!

I don't see any confusion here. All the official corespondance with the industry for the last two years has stated that OOA should not operate in Zim

As to who are OOA's American Patners - Whashington Kadzombe of calafornia and Mr J. Groenevalt of Kansas are the names on the letters we have been shown here.

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Originally posted by 500grains:
TC,

Do you have the contact info for the US partner?

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No, I am not certain what, if any, relationship the US lawyer has with OoA. I have only heard that from one source, so I could be wrong.

Regards,

Terry

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Originally posted by 500grains:

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After seeing the lack of bids on a recent auction of an OOA hunt donation I would say that cash cow is pretty sick and not long for this world.

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Did the hunt sell at all, or just for a low price?

Was it a Zim hunt they were auctioning?

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One bidder opening price pennies on the dollar. So at least people are starting to hear what is being said. Hunt was RSA not Zim

First, let me explain a couple things.
1. I have no connections with OoA in any way.
2. I know nothing about their Zim operation.
Ann mentioned the OoA, 2 hunter/2 nonhunters in RSA. I bought that hunt from our local SCI chaper in 03 and hunted with them in 04. Due to illness, we booked the hunt very late in 04. I spoke with Janneman Groenewald in Ks. He accepted our late schedule and arranged the hunt. The facilities at their main lodge in Limpopo was excellent. We met several of their PHs while there. I would hunt with any of them.
The animals we took, were not of the quality we got in Namibia, but average.
We decided to cut our hunt short by 2 days so we could travel to Nelsprit to see friends there. OoA arranged our travel there and also from Nelsprit to Joburg for our return trip home. We paid the fare but they arranged the trip.
After we got home, we decided to have our RSA tropies shipped to our Namibia taxidermy. OoA paid the dip/ship bill, ($700)for that service. It was not in the original contract.
I was impressed with the service we got for a donated hunt. I would do it again.
I'll hold off on making my final decision on OoA until I see more proof. Two letters from Zim officials, one pro and one con, isn't good enough for me. I pay more attention to what the other African folks here have to say, than I do the letters.