The do’s and don’ts of hunting
"Hunters must have their permit and approval with them at all times during the hunt,"
Captain Charmaine Struwig
Police spokesperson
The extent of illegal hunting in the Uthukela Cluster involves two scenarios, illegally hunting with dogs and illegally hunting with firearms.
Anyone who is involved in hunting with dogs must first obtain a permit from Ezemvelo KwaZulu-Natal Wildlife as well as a letter of approval from the owner of the land where the hunt is to take place. Note that the letter of approval must be from the landowner himself /herself and not the person renting the land.
Whether the land is privately or state owned, hunters must first obtain both the permit and the landowner’s approval. Once you have a permit and letter of approval, a marshal from Ezemvelo will be present during the hunt to ensure that the right animal is being hunted.
Hunters must have their permit and approval with them at all times during the hunt. Hunters must be aware that if their dogs are found killing animals and they are not under the control of the hunter, a landowner, police officer or employee of Ezemvelo may destroy the dogs.
When it comes to hunting with firearms, no one may hunt with a firearm from a public road. At a registered game farm you may, with proper permits and approval, hunt throughout the year. At an unregistered game farm or a farm not registered as a game farm you may only hunt during hunting season, which is from May 31 to August 30.
Again, you must be in possession of the proper permits and prior approval from the landowner. Hunters may not hunt at night using artificial light and they may also not hunt using a rim-fire firearm (.22), except if you have a culling licence.
Any person found hunting an animal without the proper permits and letters of approval can be arrested and everything they have used in the commission of the offence may be seized as evidence. This would include firearms, vehicles, clothing, other weapons and equipment.
If a threatened or protected species is hunted, the accused will be charged under the National Environmental Management and Biodiversity Act (NEMBA), Act 10/2004. If the animal hunted is not a threatened or protected species then the accused will be charged under the KZN Ordinances, Ordinance 15/1974.
These laws not only cover animals, but also plants and other wildlife such as birds, fish, etc. Any accused charged in terms of NEMBA will appear in a regional court. Those charged can receive a sentence of up to a R10 million fine or 10 years imprisonment or both.
Some of the top threatened and protected species found in this cluster are the common reedbuck, cerval cat, oribi, lion, leopard, rhino, elephant, cycads, tiger fish, african rock python, a variety of birds such as the blue crane, the secretary bird and the vulture.
The stock theft units and courts in the Uthukela Cluster have successfully investigated, charged and prosecuted illegal hunters. In one case where a reedbuck was hunted using dogs, police only found the remains of the tail of the buck.
After investigation the accused was found guilty and sentenced to a R12 000 fine. In another case where dogs were used to hunt a buck, the accused were sentenced to six months imprisonment without the option of a fine.
Currently, police are following up on allegations that hunters killed 11 impala using firearms. Another investigation underway pertains to the arrest of five people who were found to be hunting illegally with firearms, the youngest on the hunt being only 10-years-old.
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