18 September 2023 – The successful application by Wildlife Ranching South Africa (WRSA) to join, as a Special Interest Group (SIG), the Confederation of Hunting Associations of South Africa (CHASA) has brought our organisation’s membership much closer to our core market, the local South African hunter. Whilst game breeding (live sales), game meat, and international hunting clients are critical components of the industry, it is the local recreational hunter who still makes up the vast share of the wildlife industry income. This became clear during the COVID which had a devastating effect on the industry; without local hunters many game ranches would not have survived the lockdowns. As both hunting and wildlife production are activities which face many challenges, this move closer to one another is a win-win for both associations and their members.
The organisations have already enjoyed a good relationship for many years, and both are founding members of the Sustainable Use Coalition Southern Africa (SUCo-SA), where they, together with another eight founding partner organisations, are forging new heights in defending our rights to sustainably use our natural renewable resources. While the SUCo-SA coalition is often more focussed on an international level, the WRSA SIG membership of CHASA will afford greater opportunities to really develop grassroots interaction between the local hunting and the wildlife ranching fraternities. At the local level, some initiatives already occur regularly between structures of these two bodies, particularly in Limpopo, KZN and the Eastern Cape.
CHASA is made up of more than 20 membership associations, each with a multitude of branches throughout the country. Similar to WRSA’s Regional Interest Groups (RIGs), this provides a broad platform to really ensure local-level interaction going forward. In addition, CHASA’s three annual board meetings, which are hosted around the country, ensures a deeper level of interaction between the membership of both organisations.
An exciting and tangible benefit for WRSA members is that they will, through the WRSA office, be able to apply, retain and manage their dedicated hunter and dedicated sport-shooter status as an added service going forward. The full details of this service will soon be shared to the membership base. It would also be encouraged that WRSA members seek to make one of the twenty CHASA affiliated hunting organisations their choice association for more elevated hunting & sport-shooting activities. A full list of CHASA affiliated organisations can be found here: CHASA – Affiliated Member Associations.
CHASA has been a vocal defender of the rights and freedoms of the commercial wildlife industry for many years, often in stark contrast to some other hunting organisations. They recognise that the South African model is based on viable private enterprise game ranching, with minimum state interference. This is the best way to ensure plentiful and affordable hunting into the future. The CHASA confederate structure allows membership by diverse, autonomous organisations, and is the perfect fit for WRSA whose prime service-orientated function meets the SIG criteria perfectly.
CHASA – Established 1981. Vision: The Freedom to Hunt
WRSA – Established 2006. Vision: To promote, serve, and protect the interests of wildlife ranchers and enhance the economic viability and growth of the industry.
