“We at Badgerleur Bush Lodge have a unique and specific hunting philosophy, and that is one of ethical, professional hunting by dedicated international and local hunters who believe in the sustainability and integrity of any animal hunted. We have a number of joint ventures with professional outfitters, and all hunters are screened, tested and vetted before being allowed onto the property. They are then accompanied by one of Badgerleur’s professional hunters, who controls all hunts and methods,” says Pullen.

Pullen believes that trophy hunting is an important part of any sustainable supply of venison or game in general. The majority of the trophies hunted are bulls that have reached sexual maturity and have bred for an average of four years as a stud bull. These bulls are sold at the highest prices. “By hunting them, we have a change in gene pool and allow new bulls to become stud bulls. This prevents inbreeding, as we must remember that we are game farmers and not game reserves. The game is limited with regard to land area and diversity, so we as farmers utilise the funds raised by trophy hunting to bring in new genetics. This practice allows the breed to continue and to grow,” he says.

Badgerleur has a large variety of game, but only indigenous breeds that are adapted to sour-grass biomes are kept on the property. And there is only one kind of hunting that is recognised: ETHICAL HUNTING. “All game is equally sought after for hunting. We monitor breeding statistics and feed conditions and have a very strictly applied philosophy: we only allow the breeds selected by our professional hunters and farm management to be hunted. For example, white-tailed gnu will only be harvested if the numbers exceed our carrying capacity for their specialist diet of short, fine grass,” explains Pullen. “Hunting is essential to the survival of our natural heritage, and game farming should be encouraged in order to create hunting destinations for trophy and meat hunting. If we fail to do this, we will suffer the same fate as our neighbours in Africa where hunting is only conducted in national parks, causing a multitude of problems and the ultimate destruction of one of Africa’s greatest natural wonders – its wild-life diversity. The hunting industry and game farms in South Africa have successfully increased the number of animals in the wild as well as maintaining the diversity,” concludes Pullen.

Hunting techniques can differ radically, with modern hunting regulations often addressing issues of where, when and how hunts are conducted. Techniques may vary depending on government regulations, a hunter’s personal ethics, local custom, hunting equipment, and the animal being hunted. Often, a hunter will use a combination of more than one technique.

According to wiki.com, the various forms of hunting include the following methods:

• ​Baiting: the use of decoys, lures, scent or food.
• Beagling: using beagles to hunt rabbits, and sometimes foxes.
• Beating: flushing out game and/or driving animals into position.
• Blind- or stand-hunting: waiting for animals from a concealed or elevated position.
• Calling: using animal noises to attract or drive animals.
• Camouflaging: employing visual or odour concealment to blend with the environment.
• Dog-hunting: using dogs to help flush, herd, drive, track, point at, pursue or retrieve prey.
• Driving: herding animals in a particular direction, usually toward another hunter in the group.
• Flushing: the practice of scaring animals from concealed areas.
• Glassing: the use of optics, such as binoculars, to locate animals more easily.
• Gluing: an indiscriminate, passive form of killing birds.
• Internet hunting: a method of hunting over the internet using webcams and remotely controlled guns.
• Netting: using nets to catch game, including active netting employing cannon- and rocket-and rocket-fired nets.
• Persistence hunting: running and tracking prey to the point of exhaustion.
• Solunar hunting: theory has it that animals move according to the location of the moon in relation to their bodies, and hunters have long used this theory to determine the best times to hunt their desired game.
• Spotlighting or shining: the use of artificial light to find or blind animals before killing them.
• Stalking or still-hunting: the practice of walking quietly in search of animals or in pursuit of an individual animal.
• Tracking: the practice of reading physical signs in pursuing animals.
• Trapping: the use of devices such as snares, pits or deadfalls to capture or kill an animal.

Badgerleur offers walk-and-stalk, rifle, bow and black-powder hunting methods and considers other techniques highly unethical and illegal. Owing to its highly professional practices, Badgerleur has become a sought-after establishment for experiencing this fine sport. Hunting in South Africa is a successful and sustainable business and contributes significantly to the national economy. South Africa is also the hunting destination of choice because of its 52 species of animal available to hunters.