I have been seeing different articles about a 30 yr drought in Namibia. What say you that have over in the last couple of months? A friend and I are headed over in a couple of weeks.

No worries. A friend of mine and his wife just got back. He said the hunting was fabulous. He plans on going back next year.
I will be going in Sept with two other guys. I think the hunting is better as animals move more to eat.

quote:

Originally posted by chuckmaxman:
No worries. A friend of mine and his wife just got back. He said the hunting was fabulous. He plans on going back next year.
I will be going in Sept with two other guys. I think the hunting is better as animals move more to eat.

I appreciate the heads up. I just don`t want to sit on a water hole. That`s not my kind of hunting. Thanks

quote:

Originally posted by RAR60:
I have been seeing different articles about a 30 yr drought in Namibia. What say you that have over in the last couple of months? A friend and I are headed over in a couple of weeks.

I just got back from 10 days hunting in Namibia west of Outjo. The major impact has been on the domestic livestock. My PH has a 30000 acre cattle ranch and he took down most of his fences so that the cattle could seek out the best brouse. The plainsgame were in great shape. I shot 3 gemsbok a red hartebeest a black wildebeest a springbok a steenbok 2 baboons and 2 jackals.

http://allafrica.com/stories/201308141118.html


Namibia: Slaughtering Game Will Not Affect EU Exports
By Chamwe Kaira, 14 August 2013



THE recent decision by the government to slaughter wild animals and process the meat at abattoirs owned by Meatco as part of the drought relief programme will not affect meat exports to the European Union (EU), which requires Namibia to have stringent animal health regulations at abattoirs.

The government confirmed on Monday that Meatco abattoirs will be used to process springbok from national parks to feed the people.

The Namibian Sun reported on Monday quoting unnamed sources that eland and buffalos will also be slaughtered and the meat distributed among those people who have been affected by the drought this year. Buffaloes are known carriers of the foot-and- mouth disease which also afflicts cattle and affects beef exports.

The Manager of Communications and Marketing at Meatco, Mario Poolman said in an interview yesterday that the move to slaughter wild animals will have no effect on EU beef exports.

"Also keep in mind, that the Oshakati abattoir does not export to the EU and that is the only abattoir we are using. African exports are also not affected by this," Poolman said. The carcasses will only be processed into smaller cuts, and will not be canned, Poolman said.

"The Government asked for assistance from Meatco and the Abattoir Association to help process game for drought relief purposes. It is still currently under discussion, however, the final quotes need to be sent to the government from Meatco and the other abattoirs involved for the processing of these animals. The process has, however, been approved by the government and the cost approval should be a formality," said Poolman.

He said the plan was discussed in the presence of the Directorate of Veterinary Services (DVS), who he said act as the competent authority on behalf of the European Union.

"They make sure abattoirs and processors exporting to Europe adhere to EU requirements. The whole process, from the hunting of the animals to the processing and packing of the final product will be done under DVS supervision to make sure that the abattoirs and processors involved do not contravene any export regulations and requirements," said Poolman.

The project is an initiative from the Office of the Prime Minister with the support of the Ministry of Environment and Tourism as the animals to be slaughtered will come from the National Parks, Poolman said.

Poolman said the Oshakati abattoir will process a variety of game totaling 150 animals, from the Etosha National Park.

"The animals will be hunted in the park and the carcasses will be brought to Meatco's Oshakati abattoir. At the abattoir the carcass will be cut into smaller pieces and packed in boxes for the government." he said.

In the southern part of Namibia, 250 springboks will also be hunted and processed for drought relief from the Naute and Hardap National Parks, he said.

The region has the Brukarros and Mariental abattoirs which will further slice the carcasses into smaller cuts and package the meat. This will also take place under DVS supervision, he said.

"The Oshakati abattoir has the capacity to slaughter and debone 160 cattle carcasses every two days. The game carcass processing requested by the government needs only a part of the Oshakati factory's processing facilities, cold storage, slicing the carcasses into smaller parts and packaging. This takes a lot less time than slaughtering the animals and deboning them before packaging. Considering the fact that current volumes at the Oshakati factory are currently very low, the impact will be minimal on our slaughter capacity of the factory. Other than that, we are excited to be part of a bigger plan to help Namibians who are adversely affected by the current drought situation," said Poolman.

I hope and pray the "offtake" is sustainable ... in Zimbabwe a lot of areas have been "eaten to death".

I hunted there mid to late July a little south of Windhoek , normal rainfall is 12" and they got 2". The wildlife is in good shape now but they were having to reduce the numbers and also starting to feed some. Most of the grass is gone but still plenty of browse, so the grazers will be hit hardest. Once the rains return the wildlife will bounce back quickly.