Frosty,

It's actually a lot more complicated than that mate....... and to confuse things even more, it looks like the current situation will change again.

The course is the first step to a plains game PH licence only but I believe an apprentiship is (usually/sometimes/often) also now required. Then the guy has to get some DG experience as a second PH under his belt and only then will he be granted his DG licence.

They've also spent the last couple of years or so trying to set up a completely new system where students will be required to complete something like 150+ unit standards where each unit will equate to one day's work/study.

I'm glad to say that PHASA and a few other organisations including (I think) CHASA are doing their best to keep the Govt on track.

Alan,
Thank you for the clarification on the word used by Aubrey,Hopefully that will put the politically correct/know it all members out of our misery

quote:

Originally posted by zimFrosty:
well said Aubrey.

+1

Any property that has that many carcasses on it , simply has to have known that this was going on. There is no way in hell that 17 Rhino were slaughtered without the owners/managers of the Ranch knowing about it. If one Rhino goes down in a well run property, it is a maximum of a couple of Days before the owners are aware of it. More often than not it is actually hours.

Again +1

By the way, Alans comment on the GOOK description is correct.

Pretty close anyway. It was first used in WWII by the U.S. soldiers to refer to the Japanese. It really became common use it the Korean conflict...and...carried over to Viet Nam. I have heard it used by PH who fought in the Bushwar to refer to poachers whom told me it was a carry over from the War and taught to them by US CIA.

In this part of Africa a Poacher or armed criminal is often called a gook. I am sure Aubrey used it in that context rather than as a racially directed slur.

Absolutely...I see NOTHING that Aubrey said as a "slur" against anyone...just commentary.

Finally, regarding the comments made by Saeed,fairgame and others on South African PHs. I too know a number of top class pros from SA. Sadly I also know a number of complete dickheads and posers. There is an extremely good article in the latest African Bowhunter by Cleve Chenney which outlines the fact that a PH can qualify in SA having done a course with only 72hrs of classroom work. That is astounding. Perhaps some of our South African Operators can comment on their feelings about this. I personally beleive there is nothing better than experience. A Zim PH goes through 3 years of Appyship before he can even go on proficiency...and even them many fail.

Comments??

The only one I'll make is this: If something "bad" happens in the African Hunting Industry...it usually involves an SA PH...cnn't help it...history bears that fact out. I am sure their are 100's of top-shelp RSA PH's too.

The real question I am asking is this:

Does anyone truly know...is the Letaba Ranch mentioned in Alan's 1st report...the same...as the one in the hunting reports posted on this website???

I am not pointing any fingers just trying to gather information.

Limpopo probes rhino carcasses


Johannesburg - A high-level investigation has been launched after animal census officials recently found 18 rhino carcasses at Letaba Ranch on the western border of the Kruger National Park, an official said on Friday.

"We are very disturbed as a department and we are going to ensure that we get to the bottom of this matter," said Limpopo tourism spokesperson Joshua Kwapa.

"Following this gruesome discovery, we have launched an intensive investigation," he told Sapa.

The 18 carcasses - not 17 as was reported in Beeld on Friday - were discovered while officials were doing an animal census from a helicopter.

Kwapa said the 18 carcasses were found over an area of 42 000 hectares.

"It's old carcasses, investigations indicate that some of these carcasses have been there since 2005.

"Some of them are completely decomposed to a point of only bones and all of them have been dehorned," he said.

Meanwhile, game rangers this week caught three suspected poachers near Pretoriuskop as they were on their way out of the game park.

Three rhino carcasses were found in the Loskopdam area at the weekend, two more at a reserve in the Hartbeesfontein area in the North West, and a sixth near Mookgophong (Naboomspruit).

So far 268 rhinos have been poached this year, Beeld reported.


- SAPA

Alan,

I think it is 19 now, i stand to be corrected.

I can't believe someone could go back and forth to the same location to dump carcasses without worrying about getting caught unless someone was turning a blind eye to the proceedings. Surely you would have to be very brave or stupid to do that I would have thought! It is a struggle to cover such a vast area like KNP with anti-poaching units, but would have thought that rangers or researchers in the area would have picked up on it earlier, finding suspicious vehicle tracks left the previous night, spotlights shining or something at least. I don't know what the answer is for rhino poaching, just seems to be a losing battle in many areas.

Guys - I have been guiding for 2 months, so have very little time lately to check AR. As for this being the same Letaba Ranch, as I have hunted next to, not on, I cannot say for sure. BA and others have in fact hunted "Letaba" ranch, but as he mentions for buffalo/elephant only. I never saw rhinos, so I cannot comment to their numbers, etc. However, as BA mentions, Johan has ONLY had hunting rights there for the past 12 months or so, prior to that, he has never hunted there, or had anything to do with the wildlife either. One, I doubt highly he would have anything to do with something like this, secondly, if the carcasses were to have been poached mostly from 2005 - 2008, that was before he was ever on the place, period! Besides, he only hunts it. He is NOT the game manager/warden/council, etc. He has no management authority, and poaching is handled by the local police and another gentleman who I met, but do not remember his name. Johan has nothing to do with that, and is not allowed to, from what I understand. Quotas are set strictly by the council, and Johan is given what he can and cannot do, nothing more.

There are so many people in the area, its unreal!! Vehicles, people, villagers, come and go as they please. Lord knows, many people come in and out of there all the time. Plus, if the poachers are coming from inside Kruger Park itself, they could be coming from anywhere, as the fence between the two, is NO longer there, by design. There's a million explanations, and just as many possibilities, but Johan's knowledge or involvement would shock me into an actual stroke. He's just not that kind of guy. Honestly, his concern for the hunting their is so over the top, it's almost is annoying, but in a good way! That's all I know, can't provide anymore info.

Aubrey (.458aubs) and I are buddies, and I too have been to his place in Zim. I doubt he means to insinuate Johan is involved, but having experience in the area, I could easily see how that could have been going on without Johan's knowledge. Especially if most of it happened prior to him ever hunting the place!

quote:

Aubrey (.458aubs) and I are buddies, and I too have been to his place in Zim. I doubt he means to insinuate Johan is involved,

.458Aubs,

You are probably right about the number being higher. I was just quoting the article, but it would not surprise me if it went WAY higher. If there are actually rhino corpses there dating from 2005, there is no telling what the actual number really is.

Sources tell me that there are some very high level people involved in all of this, from the government to law enforcement, as well as Kruger management. Putting all the corpses in one spot seems to me to be a pretty stupid plan and a good way to get everyone busted.

I hope they have a good forensics team that blows the lid off this case.

i can see the start of a new TV spin off show- CSI-Letaba.. with a forensics team par excellence, it is only a matter of time until arrests are made- OR NOT!!!!!

There is a lot of talk that the whole PH thing is going to change very "soon." Like maybe "just now!"
Don't you just love it when some folk are called "racist ASSHOLES" and told to "F" off. Now we can all see who the real respectful and important tossers are.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
i can see the start of a new TV spin off show- CSI-Letaba.. with a forensics team par excellence, it is only a matter of time until arrests are made- OR NOT!!!!!

HAH BLOODY HAH !!! Drunk drivers and rapists are walking free because the Police crime labs are so short staffed and in some instances twenty-four months behind. DO NOT and I repeat, DO NOT HOLD YOUR BREATH on that one.

quote:

Aubrey (.458aubs) and I are buddies, and I too have been to his place in Zim. I doubt he means to insinuate Johan is involved, but having experience in the area, I could easily see how that could have been going on without Johan's knowledge. Especially if most of it happened prior to him ever hunting the place!

Ditto - check your mail BTW. I would like to hear what Johan has to say about it but doubt that he would be able to comment on anything for the immidiate future.

But lets face it, talk about inherriting someone else's shit