• Agriculture

'The animal always comes first'

- 2023-04-03 10:38:00

It is 06:00 and at Farm Klawerberg everyone is already in a frenzy. Medicines and vitamins are being sorted, arrows for the stun gun are prepared, and a helicopter is ready for liftoff.
For Wildlife Vets Namibia this is just an ordinary day.
Their task today is to select and anaesthetise various game species from the helicopter on this commercial farm, then measure them, vaccinate them, provide them with identification tags and sometimes relocate them to new camps.
The veterinarian Dr. Ulf Tubbesing and Mariska Bijsterbosch from Wildlife Vets Namibia are responsible for medical issues about wild animals in Namibia: from treatment and operations, to vaccinations, transport, exports and relocations that often take place across national borders.
At Klawerberg, the organisation is currently supporting the owner and South African game farmer, Charl du Toit, with the preparation of selected bulls for an auction to be held in a few weeks. Du Toit, who owns Silent Valley Stud Game Breeders in South Africa, and his manager at Klawerberg, Willie Pienaar, want, among other things, to auction four sables, three eland, three kudus, four rooibokke, two oryx, and a number of wildbees.
Auctions like these are an important part of commercial game farming in Southern Africa and enable profit-oriented game care and breeding, while preserving indigenous game species.
The sale of the animals requires intensive preparation, where a game veterinarian must be involved.
The process of shooting the animals with a stun dart requires the greatest caution and qualifications. "The anaesthetic we use is incredibly strong. While we have to use a few milligrams for a large buck, even the smallest residue can be life-threatening for humans if they come into direct contact with it," explains Tubbesing.
As a result, even a trained wildlife veterinarian needs additional permits to handle the medication. The specific application must be carefully considered in advance: each species requires different combinations of substances and different doses.
"So it depends on the country, the region, the farm and sometimes even the camp on the farm," he said.
Klawerberg is a commercial farm that covers approximately 9 000 hectares and is located about an hour south-east of Windhoek.
Stress reduction
Before the summer heat of Africa sets in, the wildlife vets and the farmers drive into the field.
The pilot Raymund Simon of Simon Wildlife Services assists them. He is an experienced helicopter pilot and together with Tubbesing, searches for the best antelope bulls from the air. When they identify these, Tubbesing anaesthetizes the animals and sends the ground team to the correct location.
"We need an experienced pilot, because this type of work is very dangerous. He has to fly extremely low so the vet can get close enough for the anaesthetic shot. He constantly has to swerve for power lines and trees," said Bijsterbosch.
The pilot steers the animal slowly towards the ground team.
"The greater the distance between the animal and the helicopter, the less stress the animal experiences. Adrenaline acts as an antidote to the anaesthetic, which means that if the adrenaline continues to flow, the animal will continue running, which can then lead to possible overheating."
The necessity to administer the correct amount of the anaesthetic also becomes clear here. "If the dosage is too weak, the animal still walks a long way before it finally falls to the ground. This can lead to overheating and kidney failure and the animal could die. This is why we prefer to administer slightly stronger anaesthetic and always have the antidote on hand than to lose the animal due to heat exhaustion," said Bijsterbosch.
The correct dosage also has a practical purpose: "The helicopter pilot is paid by the hour, thus saving the farmer money," Tubbesing said with a smile.
As soon as the animal is down, the ground team is with the animal immediately and covers its eyes.
"The animal is sedated, but often they still react to external factors," explained Bijsterbosch, who is responsible for the work on the ground.
The animal must lie on its stomach to facilitate breathing, then minerals, vitamins, the necessary vaccinations and dewormers are administered.
The animal is measured to ensure the length of the horns as a selling feature.
Each animal is also given an ear tag and microchip for identification purposes and within a few minutes the antidote is administered and the animal can stand up again.
Conservation
Pienaar says the farmers are on the lookout for animals that show the best genetics for an excellent breeding bull.
On the one hand it depends on a strong physique and the desired pelt colour, and on the other on the size of the horns.
The wildlife industry generates an enormous income, but a lot of money must also be invested in it.
A total of 600 animals will be auctioned at the end of April, of which 300 bulls come from Klawerberg.
Pienaar estimates that this is one of the biggest game auctions to date in Namibia. It is a catalogue auction where the animals are auctioned online via the photos taken by Wildlife Vets while the animals were sedated.
"It is much less stressful for the animals as they will only be anaesthetised once for the selection and once for the transport," said Pienaar.
Most farmers bid on the animals as new breeding bulls for their herds, while others do so for hunting tourism. Many Europeans find it strange that African game is bred, auctioned and sold like cattle. Actually, many people do not know that commercial game farming is also necessary for wildlife conservation. Only if local people can live off their natural resources is there interest in protecting them.
"If you want to protect nature over the long term, you have to allow people to make an income from it," said Bijsterbosch.
"If game farmers cannot make a profit from game, these farms will be converted into cattle farms overnight. The industry enables the farmer to take care of the animals."
Tubbesing also urges pragmatism in nature conservation. "For me, the animal always comes first. But the people here have to earn their living. There must be a symbiosis between humans and animals."
Namibian game farmers are also assured of their work in another respect: by selling and buying the best bulls, they want to optimize the genetics in their herds.
While Du Toit and Pienaar are passionate about their herds, the best genetics, strong bulls and long horns, there are undoubtedly game farmers in Southern Africa who are only in it for the profit.
Various measures that some farmers take to protect their wildlife resources must also be viewed critically: predators such as leopards, cheetahs and jackals are exterminated by many farmers.
Tubbesing and Bijsterbosch, on the other hand, care about the well-being of the animals entrusted to them.
For Tubbesing, everything else – profit, bureaucracy, marketing – has to take a backseat to their passionate commitment to Namibia's wildlife.
When he and Simon fly into the crimson African sunset after a long, hard day's work in a helicopter, with a herd of wildebeest galloping below them, one can be sure: nature conservation in Namibia is best done by Namibians themselves done.