I just finished reading "Kill the Boer" by Ernst Roets. The book paints a rather grim picture of farm invasions and associated crime in South Africa, somewhat reminiscent of Zimbabwe in the past. The invasions and discussion in the book seem to center on "Farms" and "Farmers" however the book doesn't mention any distinction between conventional farms and game farms i.e. farms based on hunting. The invasions while seemingly a rather frequent occurrence do not often make it to U.S. media.
My question is whether these apparently quite frequent farm invasions are limited to conventional farms or do they also occur on game farms? If that is the case why would game farms be less susceptible to invasion? If that is not the case it seems odd that such invasions of game farms would not be of interest and mentioned on hunting websites.

The book is well researched and is spot-on regarding the problems faced by commercial farmers in South Africa. It is a subject that doesn't often make the headlines, but it is getting worse as time goes by. Unfortunately.

I lived in South Africa until last year and, as such, I have lawyer friends in South Africa who represents a fair number of farmers. Consequently, I hear of such incidents more than I want to. Game farmers certainly get attacked as well, and I know of three such incidents off the top of my head. The first incident was near Rust de Winter, not too far from Pretoria. They murdered the older brother of a friend of mine in his homestead. Second incident was near Baltimore in Limpopo. The parents of a well-known South African professional hunter and outfitter I went to school with was shot in their bed at night. The husband was killed on the scene and the wife died a few days later in hospital. They had American clients in camp at the time and one of them came upon the scene after the incident and raised the alarm.

The third incident was near Zebediela, also in Limpopo, in August 2017. Again, notwithstanding good security the couple (in their 60's) were surprised in their bed late at night. Both were shot. They were family friends of many years standing, and the loss hit particularly hard. As a schoolkid, I spent many happy weekends on that property.

"Conventional" farms tend to be closer to main roads and are therefore easier to get to. The mode of transport for the perpetrators will in many instances be the ubiquitous South African minibus taxi. It is, of course, no guarantee, but some of the best security to be had as a farmer in South Africa is to make it as difficult as possible for a minibus taxi to get close to your property, and your residence, in particular.

It has been going on non stop for quite a while.

The media does not want to show blacks as criminals!

During my apprenticeship in Zambia, I worked on a bunch of buffalo safaris with a young Afrikaner videographer. He was a super positive, friendly guy, and he treated the black staff with respect, unlike some of the other Afrikaners/Boers I encountered. It was pretty jarring when he told me the story of his grandmother being brutally beaten and gang raped during a farm invasion back home. Another South African talked with me about the "kak" (shit) feeling of having to kill people in defense of his own family's farm. These folks have experienced some brutal stuff as part of ordinary life that most westerners couldn't begin to handle.

I hunted three times in the Republic of South Africa. I had a wonderful time then, but "then" was over a decade ago. I will not be going back.

I was hearing much more about this a few years ago, but am very sorry to find that it seems to continue unabated. What kind of soulless criminal murders people sleeping in their beds.
Feel very sorry for South Africa, which only seems to stumble before some terrible fall that we don't want to imagine.
The current power crisis just adds insult.
I used to belong to a wonderful RSA-based forum devoted to muzzleloader shooting and hunting called White Smoke, but it closed a few years back when black powder became so difficult to obtain, and Sannadex went out of production. Met some very decent folks and heard a lot more about this and other issues. I even "het en book op Afrikaans gekoop" thinking I might get to go back.

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The media does not want to show blacks as criminals!

Yep....same thing here in the US

Should be required reading for anyone traveling to rural RSA. The notion of the countryside being safe is folly. The press on this has been suppressed.

Last September the night before I arrived three fires were set simultaneously in different parts of a farm in North West Province.

Just ordered the book. I will be in South Africa for 18 months starting in September. Been there many, many times, but the book sounds to be very interesting. It will join my large library of political books on Southern Africa.

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Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
Just ordered the book. I will be in South Africa for 18 months starting in September. Been there many, many times, but the book sounds to be very interesting. It will join my large library of political books on Southern Africa.

18 months?

Yes sir. We'll be serving as a senior LDS missionary couple in the Africa South Area offices of the LDS Church, with me serving specifically as area associate legal counsel.

I have read the book. It seems the locals prefer to torture their victims to death.

I have now finished the book. Good read, but can be laborious at times.
With that being said, the idea that racism and hatred of whites by Black South Africans has nothing to do with South African farm murders and attacks is so blatantly and patently false, as is proven by the facts, experiences, and statistics outlined in the book.
Every chart, every statistic, every farm murder/attack story, and every interaction with South African Government officials, is backed up with cited sources, witnesses, reports and evidence.
The South African government is indeed complicit in, if not actively involved in and/or knowledgeable of the farm murders and attacks.

What is also eerily evident, is that much of the information dealing with white/black relations in South Africa, as discussed in the book, is indeed applicable to, or is leading to the very same racial outcome, regarding the current black/white situation here in the United States. As was stated above, the excuse by 90% of the farm murder/farm attack perpetrators that were caught that they were merely robbing their victims, directly flies in the face of the extreme torture that they inflicted upon their farm victims.
The book is not for the faint of heart in regards to the stories of many of the victims of the South African farm murders/attacks.
If you haven't read the book you should.

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What is also eerily evident, is that much of the information dealing with white/black relations in South Africa, as discussed in the book, is indeed applicable to, or is leading to the very same racial outcome, regarding the current black/white situation here in the United States.

Hardly.