I just heard from Subsailor74, who is in Zim at present. He told me that while he was in the air on the way, The Zim government did go ahead and shut the original owners of Save out of the game for at least the time being. He said his PH, Mike Payne, had made arrangements for him to hunt on a different concession but that they still had not gotten their buffalo tag or permit signed and in hand so he can try to take his buffalo.
Sad events indeed.

I think this is a time when some operators/P.H.'s will make it & some will choose to leave or change the way they make a living.
My thoughts & prayers are with them daily.
I have a safari booked for late July 2013 with Z.H., I truly believe that in that length of time a plan will be made & executed to take care of me.(there is always the unseen & unknown to change that)
Some of the soon to come hunters may have to be very flexible & understanding. My thoughts & prayers are also with them.
TIA!

I'm leaving tomorrow and hunting with ZH. The plan was up in the air till about yesterday as i was suppoesed to be at Arda and now headed to Nuanetsi which I think is a pretty awesome plan B. I think that those with good outfitters will still have a decent hunt. Hopefully it all goes well for us in the next few weeks.

Good luck Phil.

I leave September 29th. I hope it is resolved by then. If it craters, at least I have my elephant hunt next week in Botswana.

Thanks Larry, i woke up at 4 am this morning and couldn't get back to sleep i was so excited. It made for a long day at work!

Best of luck to you nube. Looking forward to hearing from you when you return.
Hope all goes well.
Who is P.H.?
I also think that's a good plan B.

Phil:

I hear you. I know the feeling. If I could get it to go away, my bank accounts would be a lot bigger. Fortunately, I think I am addicted!

Cecil I am hunting with Thierry
Larry, you might have a pile of money in the bank account but it would be no fun sitting on your couch staring at your bank statements and wondering what to do with it.

Agreed!

Tell Thierry (Legend) hello & congratulations for me.

The news from zim is just sad.

i would hate to see the save conservancy being destroyed by some scummy thieves/politicians

quote:

Originally posted by nube:
Cecil I am hunting with Thierry
Larry, you might have a pile of money in the bank account but it would be no fun sitting on your couch staring at your bank statements and wondering what to do with it.

Good luck, Phil!

Shoot'm up and tell Mr Labat Slapchops sends his best!

I talked with a PH yesterday that moved a hunt from the Save in anticipation of this. I was considering the Save for next year but now it's a way and see

Yes, sadly it is fact. The politicians have reared their ugly heads again. We too have had to relocate a hunt I have coming up in just over a week. Fortunately a good friend and operator has managed to accommodate me and my client.

quote:

Originally posted by larryshores:
Good luck Phil.

I leave September 29th. I hope it is resolved by then. If it craters, at least I have my elephant hunt next week in Botswana.

Bragger!

quote:

Originally posted by Beretta682E:
The news from zim is just sad.

i would hate to see the save conservancy being destroyed by some scummy thieves/politicians

some scummy thieves/politicians?? i thought ALL politicians were scummy thieves.

jdollar
I have more respect for prostitutes than I do politicians!!!

I too have much more respect for prostitutes. At least they are providing a real service and work for a living.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201208100832.html


Zimbabwe: Indigenisation of Conservancies Starts


10 August 2012


Government yesterday started indigenising conservancies by issuing hunting permits to 25 black farmers allocated lots at the wildlife-rich Save Valley Conservancy in the Lowveld. The issuing of the hunting permits to black farmers follows an almost eight-year stalemate between Government and white conservancy operators.

The operators were refusing to co-exist with the new farmers under the Government's wildlife-based land reform policy.

Government in 2004 issued 25-year leases to black farmers to actively participate in the lucrative wildlife sector.

National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director general Mr Vitalis Chadenga issued the hunting permits to the black farmers at Benjamin Burombo Government Complex in Masvingo and said more permits would be issued next week.

Mr Chadenga said the black farmers who were issued with hunting permits were allocated 25-year land leases in conservancies throughout Masvingo province.

"When the land reform programme started, the Government did not focus much on the wildlife sector because it is not only sensitive, but also requires orderly transfer," he said.

"But the Parks and Wildlife Management Authority, with the concurrence of Environment and Natural Resources Management Minister Francis Nhema has, after due consideration of all representations made to it by all stakeholders in the Wild Life-Based Land Reform exercise made the decision to grant with immediate effect annual hunting permits and quotas to beneficiaries who are in possession of 25 year leases."

Mr Chadenga told the new black farmers that his organisation expected orderly hunting to take place in the conservancies.

"The authority (National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority) is convinced that orderly hunting will ensue henceforth," he said.

"And that the right holders will assist the authority with accountability so as to ensure sustainable hunting, security to tourists and to complement the authority's robust conservation efforts."

Mr Chadenga said measures were underway to bring to book those in the wildlife sector hunting without permits.

He expressed concern over an upsurge in poaching activities, especially the black rhino in areas where old and new stakeholders were in conflict over hunting rights.

Mr Chadenga said the granting of hunting permits to black farmers was expected to engender orderliness in the wildlife hunting sector.

Speaking at the same function, Masvingo governor and resident minister Titus Maluleke said the province had waited for too long for black farmers to get hunting permits.

He said the development was a landmark and would further consolidate the land reform and indigenisation programme.

Among the black farmers who received hunting permits in an area straddling nearly 200 000 hectares at Save Valley Conservancy was Governor Maluleke, former Gutu South legislator Cde Shuvai Mahofa, Higher and Tertiary Education Minister and Masvingo North legislator Dr Stan Mudenge.

Bearing in mind the new stakeholders will pretty much automatically go on the US banned list (if they're not on it already), they've just killed the goose that lays the golden egg & condemned all the game to death.

Why is it that Africa ALWAYS manages to stuff itself up in such an efficient manner?

I'd probably get banned if I posted the two word phrase that springs to mind!

there goes the neighbourhood

Cheers to that Steve.

It makes you wonder where the hell are the Greenies now? quick to jump down our necks when we want to hunt, at least we look after the wildlife!!!!!!

It is a shame

I sure am glad that I got to experience the Save at least once.
We seem to live in an upside down world.

quote:

Originally posted by Donny01:
Cheers to that Steve.

It makes you wonder where the hell are the Greenies now? quick to jump down our necks when we want to hunt, at least we look after the wildlife!!!!!!

You can bet your life those tossers won't think to blame the indigenous types........ they'll be sure to find a way to blame us whities!

http://www.swradioafrica.com/2...ting-is-indigenised/


Endangered wildlife under threat as hunting is ‘indigenised’

Posted by Alex Bell on Friday, August 10, 2012 y

By Alex Bell
10 August 2012

Endangered animals in Zimbabwe are facing a serious threat from out of control hunting systems, with hunting licences being handed over to ZANU PF loyalists and other party members.

The government this week issued hunting permits to 25 indigenous ‘farmers’ allocating them lots at the wildlife-rich Save Valley Conservancy in the Lowveld. National Parks and Wildlife Management Authority director general Vitalis Chadenga said more permits would be issued next week. Chadenga said the black farmers who were issued with hunting permits were allocated 25-year land leases in conservancies throughout Masvingo province.

Included in the list of beneficiaries are top ZANU PF officials and loyalists, such as Masvingo Governor Titus Maluleke, former Gutu South legislator Shuvai Mahofa and Higher and Tertiary Education Minister Stan Mudenge.
Mudenge and others were earlier this year implicated in a damning report by a parliamentary committee, which slammed the inclusion of conservancy land in the land grab campaign. The report, compiled by MPs and other government officials, warned that this has led to the destruction of important conservation areas, including parts of Save Valley.

The report singled out top ZANU PF and military officials as being responsible for this destruction, stating that Zimbabwe’s conservancies were supposed to be restricted to indigenous ‘investors’ with demonstrable “interest and experience in wildlife conservation (as well as the) capacity for business development and ability to contribute to the asset base.”

The parliamentary report said: “The allocation of indigenous beneficiaries that include General Engelbert Rugeje, Hon. Sithole, Hon. Senator Hungwe, Mr. Ndava, Hon. Minister S. Mudenge, Hon. Governor T. Maluleke, Mr. Cladman Chibemene, Rtd. Lt. Col. D. Moyo, Mrs Mahofa and Mr. A. Baloyi, according to the list submitted to the committee, was not based on business principles.”

These parliamentary warnings have not stopped the likes of Mudenge becoming the new beneficiaries of hunting licences, raising concerns about the impact this could have on Zimbabwe’s wildlife. The Save Valley Conservancy is home to a number of protected species, including the critically endangered black rhino.

Johnny Rodrigues, the chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, told SW Radio Africa on Friday that the hunting licences are being handed out with no commitment to controlling the hunting practices. He said that financial gain is likely to be prioritised over animal welfare.

“These guys are going to kill every single animal if controls not are used. But who is going to enforce the controls?” Rodrigues said.

He added: “This is political interfering in the smooth running of organisations like these conservancies. These people are only given these hunting quotas as appeasement by ZANU PF.”

With elections expected soon, and with most agricultural land already used up in previous vote-securing ZANU PF campaigns, other land is now under threat. This includes the numerous conservancies across the country which have already been targeted by land invaders.

Rodrigues said that the closer the country is to elections, the more “funny things” keep happening. He said that mining licences are also being handed out without any controls, despite the serous threats the operations have to the environment.

“There is no order, there is no control. This is just about taking as much as they can, and getting rich quick while they can,” Rodrigues said.

To contact this reporter email alex@swradioafrica.com or tweet @albell88

Anyone here about the Roger Whittall's Humani Ranch in the Save??

Will be experiencing the Bubye Conservancy in less than a month, but wonder if it will be next up on the Blacks' agenda. . . . . .

Short sighted twats. They reckon that the money will just roll in, with no input, maintenance or management and when there are only a few grasshoppers left, the damn colonialists and the damn whites will be blamed. Will be blamed for taking the animals with them, for telling the visitors to stay away and for the lodges falling down. And the liberals will line up with someone else's money to bail them out once again.
It is a real heartache to see all that brought out nothing, built out of nothing, created out of the wilderness to look after that wilderness, to create employment and enjoyment, just to be stolen by thieves.
The story of Africa and it is not complete yet.

A damn shame.

I am still holding out hope that something will be worked out and the quality operators that hunt the Save will resume their business there.

Hoping and praying as it is sickening to think of that amazing place having it's wildlife decimated.

What a disgrace.

Not looking good for my October trip.

I guess it's "cry in our beer time"for those of us that love the Save.
Sad, just real sad.

This is truly depressing. 20 years to build and watch it all getting destroyed.

There were 20-30 local blacks in camp from trackers to skinners to poaching patrol who will be displaced for every ph. Pathetic.

Jdollar I apologize to scum thieves by painting them earlier with the politician brush.

I have put my deposits down to hunt in the save. Makes me wonder if id be sending good money after bad by sending iin anymore money.

tx308
I also have deposit money invested.
I'm not going to worry about mine, my operator, Zambezi Hunters will pull through & we will hunt somewhere else, & thats OK with me.

It's been about ten years that Zim started falling apart.
The next ten will probably see its final demise.
When you tip the first dominoes eventually you run out

does any of this shit happening in Zim surprise anyone?? the rule of law left that country about 10 years ago when the "war vet" land invasion began. i witnessed it first hand at the time and prayed that it wouldn't progress. it did. Steve do the 2 words that might get you banned begin with "S"??

.....this will be your new PH

What a disgusting shame, I hope everyone remembers our friends in Zim in their prayers.

now Brad, we really don't need any pictures of our President.

505 Gibbs you have a wicked sense of humor - I enjoyed the post in a otherwise depressing string.