GRAAFF-REINET NEWS — Thursday, June 1, marked the start of the long-awaited kudu hunting season.

In Graaff-Reinet and surrounds, local hunting enthusiasts have been preparing for weeks and are champing at the bit to finish their work week so that they can head to a nearby farm looking to bag a kudu.

As always, Jansenville is hosting the annual Opening of the Season kudu hunting event this weekend.

This season, according to the 2017 Hunting Proclamation gazetted earlier this year, most of the Eastern Cape, with the exception of Steyterville, will be open for hunting kudu as in previous years, with the restriction that only bulls may be hunted during the month of June.

In July and August, both bulls and cows may be hunted. The season will run from June 1 until August 31.

In Steytlerville no hunting of kudu will be permitted, due to the effects of the drought.

Chairman of the local farmers’ association in Steytlerville, Peter Knoesen, reports that over the past year farmers have seen a massive number of kudu dead in the veld, and the ones that are still alive are not doing well.

The kudu population in the area has dropped significantly, with cows failing to conceive or struggling to care for their calves. Records show that the rainfall in the area last year was the lowest for over 100 years, and it is estimated that over 3 000 kudus had died as a result of the drought.

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