I have been sitting on this story since last April, so USFWS had more time to pursue leads at the local level. Please keep an eye open for any of these characters infiltrating the SCI show and subsequent fundraisers under the name Wild Africa Hunting Safaris.

With Dawie Groenewald and now Tielman Erasmus convicted of wildlife felonies, be on the lookout for Gys du Preez, Gerhard Nel, and/or Tossie van der Merwe showing up at local chapters near you. Here is a link to their photos: Wild Africa staff photos

~ Alan



Saturday, April 6, 2013

U.S. fines SA hunter - In trouble over illegally obtained trophy

A professional hunter who has been accused in South Africa of involvement in rhino poaching charges has been arrested in the U.S. and fined for environmental crimes.

Tielman Erasmus had been fined $10,000 (about R91,500), Hennie Enwee, his lawyer said yesterday.

According Enwee, Erasmus was arrested about three weeks ago in Los Angeles.

The case involves a leopard trophy, which was hunted illegally in South Africa and exported without a permit to USA.

According to Enwee, Erasmus was in custody for three days before being released on bail.

Erasmus, Dawie Groenewald and another nine people have been charged with 1,872 counts, including permit violations, racketeering, money laundering, illegal hunting and trafficking and the sale of rhino horns, as well as violations of the Law on Biodiversity and the Law on the Prevention of Organized Crime.

Groenewald was arrested in April 2010 in the U.S. for the same leopard trophy which Erasmus is now arrested.

Erasmus works for Groenewald, who owns Out of Africa Adventurous Safaris in Limpopo.

According to Enwee, Erasmus still has a few hunting shows to attend before returning to South Africa.




Original Afrikaans text:

VSA beboet SA jagter

In die pekel oor trofee wat onwettig gekry is

’n Professionele jagter wat in Suid-Afrika van betrokkenheid by renosterstropery aangekla word, is in die VSA in hegtenis geneem en beboet weens omgewingsmisdade daar.

Tielman Erasmus het eergister ’n boete van $10 000 (sowat R91 500) betaal, het Hennie Erwee, sy prokureur, gister gesê.

Volgens Erwee is Erasmus sowat drie weke gelede in Los Angeles in hegtenis geneem.

Die saak handel oor ’n luiperdtrofee wat onwettig in Suid-Afrika gejag en sonder ’n permit na die VSA uitgevoer is.

Hy was volgens Erwee drie dae in hegtenis voordat hy op borgtog vrygelaat is.

Erasmus staan in Suid-Afrika saam met Dawie Groenewald en nóg nege mense tereg op 1 872 aanklagte, waaronder permit-oortredings, rampokkery, geldwassery, onwettige jag, en handel in en die verkoop van renosterhorings, asook oortredings van die Wet op Biodiversiteit en die Wet op die Voorkoming van Georganiseerde Misdaad.

Groenewald is in April 2010 in die VSA in hegtenis geneem weens dieselfde luiperdtrofee waarvoor Erasmus nou gearresteer is.

Erasmus werk vir Groenewald, wat Out of Africa Adventurous Safaris in Limpopo besit.

Volgens Erwee het Erasmus nog 'n paar jagskoue om by te woon waarna hy na Suid-Afrika sal terugkeer.

Thank you Alan.

Just what we have been told.

These are the same criminals who ran Out of Africa.

Now they are Operating under another name.

I hope members will keep an eye ou7t for them, and avoid any dealing with them.

Saeed,

Yes, these are all Dawie Groenewald's boys. He has them running the show under a new name to avoid any association with Out of Africa. Tielman was sent over last year to attend local SCI chapter fundraisers to drum up new victims.

I got a report from some Zim PH's who saw him inside the SCI convention hall, which he quickly exited as soon as he realized he had been made. I have no way of knowing the accuracy of that report, but can't see any reason they would make it up.

Apparently, Tielman didn't realize the USFWS had tied him to the leopard smuggling charge that brought Dawie down. They laid a trap for him, which he dutifully walked in to for them. Not however, before they followed him around for a bit.

Why would Afton house be associated with this lot? Is their name being used on the website with their consent or is it just being used generally?

just as surprising is the US sales agent, Forrest Parker from NC. guess he doesn't know much about his business associates.
RUN FORREST, RUN!!!

Facebook Pages

https://www.facebook.com/media...4300346388748&type=3

https://www.facebook.com/wildafricahuntingsafaris

i dropped old Forrest a PM on his Facebook page and asked him if he was aware of who he is doing business with. can't wait for an answer but i won't hold my breathe.

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Why would Afton house be associated with this lot? Is their name being used on the website with their consent or is it just being used generally?

Afton would have nothing to do with this. They (Afton) may have a bona fide agreement with these a$$holes to pick up their clients, but that would be the beginning and end of their services.

A board member of SCI has been made aware of this situation.

quote:

Originally posted by Pieter Kriel:

quote:

Originally posted by Nakihunter:
Why would Afton house be associated with this lot? Is their name being used on the website with their consent or is it just being used generally?

Afton would have nothing to do with this. They (Afton) may have a bona fide agreement with these a$$holes to pick up their clients, but that would be the beginning and end of their services.

Thank you.

This is my understanding as well.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
A board member of SCI has been made aware of this situation.

Larry,

Thank you for doing this.

I hope they do something about this, as my understanding is that someone high up is already involved with these crooks.

And after the past episode of Out of Africa and the president himself being involved, let us hope SCI has learnt something.

The opening post refers to Dawie Groenwald as "convicted of wildlife felonies." Is this true? What kind of punishment did he receive?

Larry,

This is the case in the US the USFWS got Dawie and Tielman for. The rhino case in SA is still being postponed by their lawyers.


South African Safari Owner Sentenced For His Role In The Illegal Importation Of A Leopard

Thank you Alan.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Thank you Alan.

Larry,

Here is the complete text of the US Attorney's Office's press release. It was only after this news broke that SCI was forced to distance themselves from their 'cash cow', Out of Africa (2010). This was a full seven years after Out of Africa was banned by the Dallas Safari Club (2003).

SCI was clever in the wording of their ban, which only prohibited Out of Africa from exhibiting at their main convention. Conspicuously absent was any ban on exhibiting at local chapter fundraisers, thus the situation last year where Tielman Erasmus was dispatched to set up a hotel room adjacent to the SCI convention and attend local chapter functions. Luckily, the USFWS agents had a special reception committee waiting for him.

BTW, you can save your time and effort in contacting SCI about this. I would guess anyone who is a board member of SCI would have never reached that position without being aware in this 'alleged' dirty business, and probably many other incidents that have not been exposed to the spotlight of truth.



United States Attorney's Office for the Middle District of Alabama

South African Safari Owner Sentenced For His Role In The Illegal Importation Of A Leopard

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE April 16, 2010

Montgomery, Alabama - Dawie Groenewald, a 42-year old, South African national, was sentenced in U.S. District Court in the Middle District of Alabama, to “time served” and a $30,000 criminal fine in connection with the importation of an unlawfully hunted leopard trophy into the United States, announced United States Attorney Leura G. Canary and Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Chavez of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) Southwest Region Office of Law Enforcement.

Groenewald, the owner of a guiding and outfitting business, known as “Out of Africa Adventurous Safaris” in Limpopo Province, South Africa, was also ordered to pay $7,500 in restitution to a U.S. hunter who cooperated with investigators after learning that he had unknowingly paid for, and participated in, an illegal safari in South Africa. The defendant had pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Lacey Act, a federal wildlife law that makes it illegal to import into the United States any wildlife unlawfully taken under the laws and regulations of another country.

Groenewald was arrested on January 29, 2010, by U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service special agents at the airport in Montgomery after visiting his brother and indicted in February by a federal grand jury on charges of smuggling and violating the Lacey Act. He spent eight days in jail and almost 2 and a half months in home incarceration at his brother’s residence before being sentenced this week.

During the course of the investigation, Service special agents worked with authorities in Limpopo Province, South Africa to collect evidence showing that Groenewald sold a leopard hunting safari to a U.S. sportsman and conducted that hunt in 2006 knowing that he did not have the right or authorization to do so under South African laws and regulations. Groenewald waited two years to apply for a permit to export the trophy to the United States, falsely claiming that the animal had been killed in 2008. The trophy was intercepted by Service wildlife inspectors at John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York as it was being imported into the United State from South Africa.

“This case demonstrates our commitment to upholding laws that protect not only our native wildlife but species around the world,” said U.S. Attorney Canary. “The Lacey Act is an important instrument in this enforcement arena. The United States is not an open market for hunting trophies or any other wildlife imports that represent violations of the laws of other nations.”

“In the not-so-distant past, leopards were nearly hunted to extinction,” said Special Agent in Charge Chavez. “We will continue to work with U.S. prosecutors and our global partners to safeguard imperiled species and bring wildlife poachers and traffickers to justice both here and beyond our borders.”

Leopards are protected under both the U.S. Endangered Species Act (which lists African populations as “threatened”) and the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES) – a global treaty upheld by more than 175 countries (including the United States and South Africa) that uses a system of permits to regulate trade in wildlife and plants that would otherwise face the threat of extinction. South Africa and several other nations in Africa closely regulate hunting of these big cats to control the number killed each year. The legal import of a sport-hunted leopard trophy requires permits issued under the CITES treaty by both the exporting and importing country.

U.S. Attorney Canary commended the coordinated investigative efforts of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and Environmental Compliance and Enforcement officers of the Limpopo Provincial Government of South Africa. This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Monica A. Stump.

quote:

“In the not-so-distant past, leopards were nearly hunted to extinction,” said Special Agent in Charge Chavez.

With individuals like Chavez and his expert opinions on Leopards, how can anyone work sensibly with USF&W ?

The one interesting sentence however which may backfire on they who shoot Banteng on others concessions (unknowingly) simply because they had faith in their PH are in fact in breach of the Lacey Act:

.... "a U.S. hunter who cooperated with investigators after learning that he had unknowingly paid for, and participated in, an illegal safari in South Africa. The defendant had pleaded guilty to a felony violation of the Lacey Act" .......

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Bunn:
BTW, you can save your time and effort in contacting SCI about this. I would guess anyone who is a board member of SCI would have never reached that position without being aware in this 'alleged' dirty business, and probably many other incidents that have not been exposed to the spotlight of truth.

Oh Alan. SURELY you're not suggesting anyone in the upper echelons of $CI might be anything less that 110% open, honest & ethical?



Someone call an ambulance. I think I've just bust a gut laughing!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Bunn:
BTW, you can save your time and effort in contacting SCI about this. I would guess anyone who is a board member of SCI would have never reached that position without being aware in this 'alleged' dirty business, and probably many other incidents that have not been exposed to the spotlight of truth.

Oh Alan. SURELY you're not suggesting anyone in the upper echelons of $CI might be anything less that 110% open, honest & ethical?



Someone call an ambulance. I think I've just bust a gut laughing!

I think it is REQUIRED that you have absolutely no honest and ethical bone in your body to climb the SCI management ladder

Actions speak louder than words!

BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!!!!!

INCOMING WHINE ALERT! CHEERLEADERS APPROACHING AT WARP FACTOR SIX!

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!!!!!

INCOMING WHINE ALERT! CHEERLEADERS APPROACHING AT WARP FACTOR SIX!

Especially those who DON'T CARE

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by shakari:
BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES!!!!!

INCOMING WHINE ALERT! CHEERLEADERS APPROACHING AT WARP FACTOR SIX!

Especially those who DON'T CARE

I'm crying with laughter here!

ALERT - ALERT - Looks like the "clown twins" escaped from the mental ward again!!!

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
ALERT - ALERT - Looks like the "clown twins" escaped from the mental ward again!!!

Larry Sellers

If there are two vacancies available in the mental ward in Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, we would like to join you

You two can have the last two spots available. Just let me know when you want to check in. I'll have the kool aid ready.

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
ALERT - ALERT - Looks like the "clown twins" escaped from the mental ward again!!!

Larry Sellers

If there are two vacancies available in the mental ward in Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, we would like to join you

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
You two can have the last two spots available. Just let me know when you want to check in. I'll have the kool aid ready.

Larry Sellers

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Larry Sellers:
ALERT - ALERT - Looks like the "clown twins" escaped from the mental ward again!!!

Larry Sellers

If there are two vacancies available in the mental ward in Jemez Mountains, New Mexico, we would like to join you

I look forward to it Larry.

I will provide all the drinks, and just watch you and Steve tell me how great SCI is!

Walter has asked to join us - I can assure you he will fit right in with this company!

Talk about someone talking out of the box!

He said he really enjoyed watching ONE FLEW OVER THE COCKOO'S NEST1

May be this will the sequal

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l-lJZiqZaGA

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

I think it is REQUIRED that you have absolutely no honest and ethical bone in your body to climb the SCI management ladder

Actions speak louder than words!

Decisions are made by those who show up.

Guys !!!!! , the anti's watch for the cracks in our ranks and exploit them , the enemy is out there guys , not here on the inside , we need to be seen to be one in the eyes of public forums . Like the SA ad ses , be the adult.

quote:

Originally posted by Safaris Botswana Bound:
Guys !!!!! , the anti's watch for the cracks in our ranks and exploit them , the enemy is out there guys , not here on the inside , we need to be seen to be one in the eyes of public forums . Like the SA ad ses , be the adult.

I would love to see the SCI management behave like adults when it comes to crooks like these

Don't you remember that the SCI PRESIDENT was their protector?

Let it go Saeed - this is unproductive.

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
Let it go Saeed - this is unproductive.

And you think SCI behavior IS?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

quote:

Originally posted by Matt Graham:
Let it go Saeed - this is unproductive.

And you think SCI behavior IS?

SCI does many productive things. What some FORMER President did or did not do is becoming a tired point. Surely you can find some new thing about SCI to moan about?

what about 2 former presidents????? still irrelevant? what about a pattern of behavior( i.e. the "ethics committee) that is a joke. also irrelevant?

All organisations stand for something. SCI does not stand for ethics as ethics can be subject to personal interpretation. SCI is just a big market place for us all to do what we love and fortunately MOST of the money generated goes back into conservation. sooner you realize that, the easier it is to work with them.

quote:

Originally posted by muck racker:

All organisations stand for something. SCI does not stand for ethics as ethics can be subject to personal interpretation. SCI is just a big market place for us all to do what we love and fortunately MOST of the money generated goes back into conservation. sooner you realize that, the easier it is to work with them.


All organisations stand for something. SCI does not stand for ethics as ethics can be subject to personal interpretation.

Considering SCI's checkered history with poachers, thieves, and extortionists, it is not hard to understand how you came to this erroneous assumption. However, as you can see, SCI actually does have a Code of Ethics.


Safari Club International ~ Code of Ethics ~

Recognizing my Responsibilities to All Wildlife, Wildlife Habitat and our Future Generations, I Pledge :

-To Conduct myself in the field so as to make a positive contribution to wildlife and the ecosystems.

-To Improve my skills as an outdoorsman and marksman to ensure humane harvesting of wildlife.

-To Comply with all game laws, in the spirit of Fair Chase, and to influence all outdoorsmen and companions accordingly.

-To Accept my responsibility to provide all possible assistance to game Law Enforcement Officers.

-To Seize every opportunity to teach young people the full meaning of this Code of Ethics and the respectful treatment of all wildlife, wildlife habitat and our natural resources.

-To Display in word and behavior a positive reflection upon the fraternity of sportsmen, and to demonstrate abiding respect for game, habitat and property wherever I am privileged to hunt.

SCI Mission: The Leader in Protecting the Freedom to Hunt and Promoting Wildlife Conservation Worldwide.

Can anyone provide me a link to the Code of Ethics on one of these pages:

Safari Club International

Safari Club Foundation

Please keep an eye peeled and see if it is still included on any of the literature SCI sends out.

Perhaps it has been quietly shelved?

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Bunn:

quote:

Originally posted by muck racker:

All organisations stand for something. SCI does not stand for ethics as ethics can be subject to personal interpretation. SCI is just a big market place for us all to do what we love and fortunately MOST of the money generated goes back into conservation. sooner you realize that, the easier it is to work with them.


All organisations stand for something. SCI does not stand for ethics as ethics can be subject to personal interpretation.

Considering SCI's checkered history with poachers, thieves, and extortionists, it is not hard to understand how you came to this erroneous assumption. However, as you can see, SCI actually does have a Code of Ethics.


Safari Club International ~ Code of Ethics ~

Recognizing my Responsibilities to All Wildlife, Wildlife Habitat and our Future Generations, I Pledge :

-To Conduct myself in the field so as to make a positive contribution to wildlife and the ecosystems.

-To Improve my skills as an outdoorsman and marksman to ensure humane harvesting of wildlife.

-To Comply with all game laws, in the spirit of Fair Chase, and to influence all outdoorsmen and companions accordingly.

-To Accept my responsibility to provide all possible assistance to game Law Enforcement Officers.

-To Seize every opportunity to teach young people the full meaning of this Code of Ethics and the respectful treatment of all wildlife, wildlife habitat and our natural resources.

-To Display in word and behavior a positive reflection upon the fraternity of sportsmen, and to demonstrate abiding respect for game, habitat and property wherever I am privileged to hunt.

SCI Mission: The Leader in Protecting the Freedom to Hunt and Promoting Wildlife Conservation Worldwide.

Is this a joke Alan?

I can guarantee you many of SCI head honchos have broken every one of the above!

Just to get into one circle or another

They don't let silly things like "ethics" get in the way of "belonging", do they?

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

Is this a joke Alan?

I can guarantee you many of SCI head honchos have broken every one of the above!

How many of these bad eggs do you actually know have 'broken every one'?

Serious question...

Matt,

Can you provide a link to the SCI Code of Ethics on either of the web sites I listed?

Serious question...

quote:

Originally posted by Alan Bunn:
Matt,

Can you provide a link to the SCI Code of Ethics on either of the web sites I listed?

Serious question...

Not at the moment but I have seen it published somewhere before. They have changed webites a few times. It is an internal document anyhow I would think, for members, doesnt need to be published.