Dakalo Nemangwele is a well-known hunter from the remote Mangwele village in Nzhelele. He started hunting as a hobby when he was just 12 years old. Today, the 33-year-old works full time as an artisan at Eskom, but he still does hunting as a side job.
Nemangwele encourages unemployed people to consider hunting as a career. "I have been hunting for almost my whole life, and I am planning to hunt for the rest of my life. Hunting is a full-time job for many people. There is a lot of money to be made in this industry. Both professional hunters and outfitters earn an income from clients, and the country also benefits from clients coming into the country," says Nemangwele.
He says hunting also allows you to experience different parts of the country. "I hunt at private game farms, where the revenues are used to maintain the farms and pay the farms' bills and employees. In South Africa, we normally hunt during the hunting season, from April to August. The main reason for this is to let the animals have time to give birth and raise their young," he said.
People hunt for different reasons. "Some people hunt animals for the meat - to put food on the table, while others practice hunting as a sport. Trophy hunters usually select old, matured bulls or rams and only take the horns and skin. I have hunted different types of game such as kudu, impala, warthog, tsesebe, duiker, klipspringer, blue wildebeest, nyala, bushbuck, eland, oryx, and steenbok. All these animals have generated an income for farmers and butchers as well, who prepare the meat to end consumable products."
However, this job has certain requirements. According to Nemangwele, a hunter does not have to have a specific qualification, but they can only hunt under the guidance of a qualified professional hunter (PH), and they still need a valid hunting permit and firearm license.
"We do not have a thousand professional hunters in the whole of South Africa, but we have thousands of hunters. Even international hunters hunt in and around our country without being a PH, but they hunt under the guidance of a PH. I would like to become a qualified PH, not for hunting purposes, but to start my own business."