Farm Secretaris

Hunting Rules & Regulations

All guests and hunters use our facilities at their own risk and discretion. Farm Secretarius and its partners reserve all rights. Farm secretarius is a private property. no right of way. access without permission is prohibited.

INTRODUCTION

We understand that you visit us to enjoy yourself, live out your passion for hunting and nature, and possibly share the hunting culture and heritage with your family, friends, or children.

We would also like you to have the opportunity to do so without too strict a rule and set regulations that may restrict you from practicing the above. We also understand that each hunter and guest has unique needs and we respect your needs, similarly, we ask you to respect, our guests, our interests, and our natural heritage to preserve for our future generations and manage according to our management prescriptions and practices.

Please understand that for us as game farmers and hunting entrepreneurs there are several challenges to be able to farm sustainably in difficult economic climate and conditions to make a living, we consider it a privilege to be able to do so, not a right and we urge you to have the same attitude to consider it a privilege to enjoy your time with us in such a way that it is enjoyable for all. 

We do not like to go through a lot of rules, we only want to highlight certain rules with this, you must also accept that there are certain laws and regulations that are applicable and there are certain generally accepted practices and habits that have become customary law over the years. 

There are also hunters’ associations and ethical rules that are considered by various institutions as reasonable conduct of hunters, that we trust that you have been exposed to or have experienced, we trust that you will apply it, always put safety first and follow our rules and maintain them at all times. You also obtain permission to hunt on the farm or be present specifically provided that you undertake to abide by our rules.

Should you or any of your guests or visitors violate any of our rules, there will be strict action taken against the person or persons and even one person in a group who is subject to serious misconduct or non-compliance can cause the whole group under it, for example, to stop hunting and leave the farm.

GENERAL RULES

The owner and/or hunting operator reserves the right of access at all times to all hunting destinations at their sole discretion towards visitors. If a visitor is requested to leave property and he/she refuses to take immediate steps to leave the farm, has no further permission to be present on the property and failure to leave the property makes such person guiltyof trespassing.

Any person or hunter enters the farm entirely at his own risk, the farm owner or hunting entrepreneur or any other representative of the aforesaid is indemnified from any liability regarding any loss, injury of any nature and reason to visitors.

It is the responsibility of the hunter to be aware of the fact that there are wild animals present on the farm, as well as dangerous animals and activities, and that all hunters and visitors enter the farm entirely at own risk.

Before any hunt can begin, the hunter must have written permission to hunt, indicating the species that may be hunted at agreed prices. The hunter must discuss species, numbers and sexes in advance with the hunting entrepreneur what he/she intends to hunt and/or possibly hunt, to confirm availability. The permit may be withdrawn at any time immediately at the sole discretion of the farm owner or the hunting entrepreneur. The hunter accepts the terms and conditions the moment the farm is entered. The rules will be sent with the hunting booking and booking form to the person who made inquiries and bookings on behalf of the hunting group and he/she will provide it to the fellow hunters. The rules are also displayed on the premises and are also available on request. Before any hunt begins, a hunter undertakes that he/she is familiar with the rules and will obey them.

The hunter must handle all firearms and hunting equipment with care and respect, and respect for other guests and persons on the farm’s safety and dignity at all times. Rifles must be unloaded at all times, except where designated targets are fired at designated firing points, after the owner and/or representative have assured that the firing point is safe or except where the firearm is loaded in the field with the eye to stalk an animal or land on an animal, with a view to hunting it. Only two (2) guns are allowed per hunting vehicle, unless the other is in a rifle bag. Weapons may only be loaded before being applied to an animal and must be unloaded if the shot has been taken or not taken.

Firearms must be unloaded in the camp, stored in a gun bag or in a safe when not hunting and not handled in the camp where other visitors are. If weapons are to be handled or cleaned, we have a reloading room where necessary equipment is, alternatively you need to handle it in your room if it is safe to do so and not, for example around the fire. We accept no responsibility for any loss or damage to a firearm. It remains the license holder’s responsibility to handle his firearm safely and keep it under his direct control.

The shooting range is at your disposal, but must be arranged in advance with the owner or representative to make sure the shooting point and shooting range are safe before shooting.

Please note explicitly that children are not allowed without the presence of a parent or gaurdian to shoot or handle firearms on the shooting range and/or anywhere on the farm without supervision and prior permission. This includes air rifles, Daisy’s, Paintball guns, chains or any other tool that could injure someone or something.

We do not have a problem with children who want to become proficient, on the contrary we welcome children, but we do have a real problem if children act without supervision and permission.

Please take note, you as a hunter are the person who ultimately decides to take a shot or not, either on a target, object or animal, and this is not up to the guide. Before taking any shot, the hunter must familiarize himself with the safety of the trajectory, deflection of the projectile or bullet, and that animals do not stand behind each other.

The identification of the animal or species, the trophy quality or not, the gender of the animal, and total safety before the trigger goes off, all remain the responsibility of the hunter. If a hunter made a mistake and, for example, shot the wrong species and/or trophy, hit more than one animal, or hit an animal behind his target, he/she is responsible for his/her own decision and the cost thereof. If a hunter requires a farm owner or his representative to make the decision, a professional hunter must be pre-arrange for the animal to be identified in advance and the professional hunter’s fee must be paid per day.

The same goes for species identification, sex and horn estimation. The hunter himself decides on estimation of horns, the guide can only give an indication. However, if the hunter uses the services of our professional hunter to ensure that, for example, no trophy animal is hunted, it will be the responsibility of the professional hunter (hereinafter referred to as “ph”) to make the decision whether animal is a trophy or not. Services of our professional hunter must be booked in advance should you require one and his/her instructions must be complied with. For example, if the ph indicates that a particular animal is not a trophy and you are shooting the correct animal as pointed out by him or her, then the fault is on our ‘ph’ and not on the hunter. P.S. the professional hunter’s fee must be paid and booked in advance. On the other hand, one sometimes finds that trophy hunters require a certain small amount of inches on a trophy and sometimes there are animals that on estimate can make it just-just or just-not, remember it remains an estimate and one only knows if the animal is measured, in such a case where the ph indicates that he/she doubts, our suggestion is that you rather let the animal stand, if the hunter, however, takes the shot regardless and the measurement is less than the length that the hunter wanted animal, it is the hunter’s own decision and he remains responsible for paying the animal’s price according to the pricelist.

Shooting at anything other than the target animal being hunted is strictly prohibited, this includes shooting at trees, rocks, and/or objects, etc.

Shoot only to animals for which prior permission has been obtained on the written permission to hunt and on which it has been agreed to hunt. It may be that certain species are not huntable or that certain sexes are not hunted at certain times of the year due to pregnancy, small lambs/calves, limited numbers on certain species per year, or possibly late in the season that certain species are closed due to too much hunting for the season (the latter case is unlikely as we have many game numbers and still try to shoot judiciously at all who tried to meet the needs of the discussed). The shooting at any animal that has not been agreed in advance and that does not appear on the written permission to hunt will be handled as follows:

  • If animal appears on price list but no written permission has been obtained:

Hunting of female animals that were closed during the hunting period due to pregnancy or possible small lambs/calves – Double (2x) the rate on the price list payable.

* NB If an animal has been opened and permission has been obtained and the one there is pregnant, for example, no double tariff is payable.

Hunting of animals that were closed during the period that hunting takes place and for which permission has not been obtained but which does appear on the
price list – Double (2x) the most expensive trophy rate for that species on the price list payable.

  • Hunting of animals for which no permission has been obtained and which do not appear on the price list:

Double the cost of relocation of the animal / bird concerned or double its replacement value plus in the case of endangered or protected animals it is reported to the relevant authorities.

MISSED SHOTS

The owner or his representative must be convinced that a shot is missed before a shot can be declared a missed shot.

Missing shots will only be allowed at the discretion of the owner or his representative to the extent that the latter in his / her discretion finds that a hunter misses too much and the owner or his representative reserves the right to prohibit the hunter from continuing hunting until the owner or representative is satisfied that the hunter, after spending time on the shooting range, is capable and will be given the opportunity to hunt again.

INJURED ANIMALS

The full price will be payable for any animal injured. The rule is as follows: an animal will be considered injured if the owner or his representative or the professional hunter or the tracker finds an indication that the animal has been hit. It can be in the form of behavior of the animal, sound that animal has been hit, or include any trace of blood or water from a shot in the intestines or flesh or stomach contents or hair, horn etc. When a person shoots at an animal, the owner or his representative has the final say whether the animal was hit or not. The tracker has explicit instructions to follow the animal – until the tracker (not the hunter) is convinced by the indications (not by the hunter himself), that the animal has not been hit and or can reasonably not be found. in the circumstances.

During this time, the person is not allowed to shoot at any other animal (s), until the tracker calls the hunter’s last shot a “miss” or the tracker will call the hunter’s injured animal “non-reasonably findable”, and should this happen, the hunter’s previous animal will be considered wounded and not reasonably findable, no further time will be spent finding the animal.

Although the guide will make reasonable effort in his ability to find the hunter’s wounded animal within a reasonable time, it is not his responsibility to do so. If an animal is wounded and not found or if a determination has to be made regarding the animal and there is a dispute between the tracker and hunter regarding the sex and trophy, the guide will have the final say in determining the gender and trophy size. Do not bribe the tracker/guide. They enjoy it when a person does it because we offer them twice as much as the person offers them to tell us about the person’s offer.

These costs will be added to the person’s final bill and we have the right to report the person’s fraudulent behavior to the local authorities as well.

SHOOTING IN THE "NO HUNTING ZONE OR CAMPS"

The no hunting zone is in the house camp and ± 1km meters around the house or camp as well as within 10 meters of any game fence boundaries.

Please note that no firing of shots at any game, except for foxes, jackals, and pigs may be fired in a road against the boundary wire. Elk, Kudu and Waterbuck tend to jump wires and can even break through a herd where one animal is shot at. If a person fires a shot at the game fence and it results in one or more of the animals breaking the fence, the person will be held responsible for the trophy prize for each specific animal(s) that jumped or escaped.

There are certain game that we do not hunt in certain camps, you will be clearly informed of this, these animals may not be hunted there at all, do not regret if you have to pay significant amounts due to your disregard of the regulations.

GENERAL

No hunting at night unless arranged in advance.

No hunting with your own vehicles unless pre-arranged, do not drive off the roads except to collect carcasses.

No hunting while a person is under the influence of alcohol or drugs. No alcohol is allowed in the field or while hunting.

If a person has “served” himself or someone else with alcohol the previous evening to such an extent that he/she may still be under the influence, he/she will not be allowed to hunt.

Be very careful not to set fire to the field and no fires may be made in the field unless the prior location has been pointed out by the owner.

DAMAGE TO FURNITURE OR EQUIPMENT

Any item that is broken or damaged will be charged at its replacement value at the discretion of the owner or a safari operator.

Do not remove any plants or items without permission.

DAILY HUNTING FEE

The hunting fee includes: a tracker (if applicable), cold room storage, slaughtering facilities, the recovery of a carcass with a vehicle and slaughtering of animals during normal working hours.

  • Hunter per day (DAY HUNTS) Only payable if no accommodation is taken – R500.00 per person per day

Double normal fees apply for Sunday hunting

ACCOMODATION

Accommodation is payable per person per night. The guesthouse sleep 10 persons. The family apartment sleeps 3 people. The main house is available on special request for groups. An additional 10 persons can be accommodated at the main house, adjacent to the guesthouse.

  • Hunter (SELF-CATERING) The hunting fee is included – starting from R450 per person per day
  • Non-Hunter (SELF-CATERING) – starting from R350.00 per person per night

Included with the self-catering accommodation at the guesthouse and family apartment is electricity, cleaning services, a fully equipped kitchen, an entertainment area, ise (if available from the ice machine), linen, towels, and firewood (fair usage is free).

A minimum number of booking days are applicable, subject to the hunting quota. A normal minimum of four (4) days and four (4) will apply for normal game hunting.

Additional Fees

We attempt not to charge any of our guests any additional fees, except for additional fees we are necessitated to charge and as indicated in advance or as contained in our price lists and rules.

HUNTERS

The hunter is the person that releases the trigger and as such he/she is responsible for species identification, carcass size estimation, sex and horn length judgement. Prices on the game are by means of horn length and it is the responsibility of the hunter to estimate size, in the event that the hunter wishes to shift this responsibility the services of a professional hunter should be pre-arranged.

  • Professional Hunter (Only if required by the hunter) Not compulsory for South African huntersstarting from R1250.00 per person per day

HUNTING VEHICLES

As a result of the extent and size of the farm, normally we drive many kilometers per day, the terrain with some rocks and holes can result in damages to vehicles, we use equipped vehicles and provide the fuel thereof, should you wish to make use of your own vehicle and as such to avoid paying hunting vehicle fees, prior arrangements will have to be made prior to the hunt for consideration of your request. Safety will be paramount and remains our first priority.

  • Equipped Hunting Vehicle (If used for hunting purposes) – starting from R1000.00 per vehicle per day

A maximum of two (2) hunters and two (2) observers will be allowed per vehicle.

SLAUGHTERING

Our guides normally work Mondays to Saturdays from 07:00 – 17:00 (with lunchtime included, public holidays excluded) and are available or included in daily tariffs to slaughter animals during these hours, however, should it be required to slaughter animals after hours we shall charge a nominal fee for slaughtering after hours to provide for overtime. See rules and fees applicable thereto. Prices are available on request.

We have reasonable equipment and facilities to process your venison according to your requirements, however,  prior arrangements for the hunt have to be made. Prices are available on request on meat processing, cape of trophies, and the salting of skins.

The hunting fee is charged per hunter per day regardless of whether the hunter hunts all day and/or only part of the day. The hunting fee on Sundays or portion of a Sunday is double the normal rate. The hunting fee is payable whether an animal has been shot or not.

The full accommodation and hunting fee is payable as indicated in the booking form, or as arranged in advance, regardless of whether fewer people arrive and/or leave the farm earlier. The minimum fee and minimum number of people as on the price list on the specific farm also apply.

The hunt and bill are paid in full before the hunters leave the farm and payment is strictly in cash

for further details please contact charles pieterse on +2784 444 0306

Our Associated Partners.

Kremetart-tot-Kameeldoring

Farm secretarius

Accommodation for your peace of mind