NAMBREED ON THE HORIZON by Pat Botha Walmaine s cutting edge boma. Golden wildebeest, from a genus of antelopes, Connochaetes. Much like King Arthur s famed round table which would best describe the Nambreed group one cannot list the members in numerical order. Each member brings his expertise to the circle to form a formidable group that wants to build and share exceptional genetics through breeding in the wildlife ranching industry. To best introduce this group, you should start in the centre the common goal amongst the four 156 WR 2016 ISSUE 2
The Kinnear family. Golden oryx (Oryx gazella). members. Three of the members of Nambreed are major roleplayers in the South African wildlife industry. Add to that one of the largest role-players in the Namibian wildlife industry and you have all the knowledge and expertise to offer the best quality and superior genetics available in Namibia. Walter Kinnear and his wife, Charmaine, are the proud owners of the farm Walmaine, situated close to Gobabis, Namibia. Together with their four children, Walter Jnr, Charnè, Charicia and Denzil, they all contribute to their dream to conserve and protect wildlife a true nature loving family. With his love for animals and his true passion for wildlife Walter sums up: To me, this group is more than just a business partnership. It s a fulfilment of the passion I have for what I do as a wildlife rancher, conservationist and game breeder. All species and colour variants, except buffalo are bred on Walmaine, with its main goal being to protect and enhance the existence of all their own and other species. Walter Kinnear s big dream for Nambreed is to make it one of Namibia's biggest and proudest game breeders and conservationists in Africa. In South Africa Dries Visser needs little introduction as a game breeder. Dries Visser Pure-Bred Game is situated in Thabazimbi, Limpopo an area well known for top-genetics game breeding. Dries and his son, Dries Jnr, breed high quality game on their farm, Citadel, about 60km outside Thabazimbi. WR 2016 ISSUE 2 157
management && production Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus). Golden wildebeest, from a genus of antelopes, Connochaetes. Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger). Sable antelope (Hippotragus niger). Golden oryx (Oryx gazella). Photo by Charicia Pretorius. Roan antelope (Hippotragus equinus). 158 WR 2016 ISSUE 2
Dries Jnr. and his father, Dries Visser. Louis van der Watt. In 1999 Dries succeeded in bringing in one of only two known breeding groups of Zambian sable after a long-term, difficult project to import the exceptionally beautiful pure black masked Zambian sable with enormous horn lengths from the Kafue region in Zambia. Louis often emphasises the importance of managing one s breeding operation as a business venture like any other that requires consistent attention to its financial model to ensure profits over the long term. Over the years Dries carefully managed the breeding of these magnificent animals and today his sable genetics are sought after by all breeders of quality sable. The Dries Visser bloodline is well represented in many of South Africa s top sable breeders camps. Dries and Louis van der Watt are two of the founder members of the Greater Kudu Club. This exclusive Kings Wildebeest, from a genus of antelopes, Connochaetes. group breeds with the biggest kudu bulls and exceptional cows. Its aim is to produce exceptional kudu genetics. In addition, high quality genetics bred in buffalo, golden and king wildebeest (gnu), kudu, impala, as well as top breeding projects for nyala and golden gemsbok, are the priorities on the breeding portion of 4 000 hectares on the Dries Visser breeding farm. As one of the top finance gurus in the industry, Louis van der Watt has delivered many seminars on finances in the industry. Well known as one of the country s property experts, Louis is passionate about the high-value game breeding industry. He believes strongly in the long-term sustainability of the entire game ranching industry. Louis often emphasises the importance of managing one s breeding operation as a business venture like any other that requires consistent attention to its financial model to ensure profits over the long term. As a wildlife breeder himself, his knowledge and know-how makes any wildlife rancher sit up and listen. Louis breeds buffalo, sable and roan amongst others on his farm WR 2016 ISSUE 2 159
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Horison an African buffalo bull (Syncerus caffer). A quarter share in the buffalo bull, Horison, was auctioned off for R44m at a Piet du Toit auction on 13 February 2016. This so-called super buffalo whose horns span 55 inches (1.397m) and who weighs more than a tonne, is worth an estimated R176m. Meletse, also in the Thabazimbi area, South Africa. The buffalo originate from an East-African bloodline, while his sable are pure Matetsi genes. Louis also has a significant breeding farm in the Kalahari. His breeding species here include red gemsbok, golden gemsbok and coffee springbok. The fourth link to complete the circle is Pieter Bellingan. Pieter, a successful businessman, has applied his skills obtained from his business career to his successful game breeding operation. He purchased his farm, Tambotie Floodlands, in 2003. It forms part of the protected Nylsvlei floodplains. Nylsvlei is a protected Ramsar Site, a wetland designated as being one of international importance for wildlife and it is designated as an important Bird Area by Birdlife South Africa. It is also ideally suited to buffalo. Purchased originally for recreational purposes, Pieter, an entrepreneur at heart, realised the With a businesslike approach Pieter commenced with extensive infrastructure development and first created what is probably one of the best-established and operational bomas. potential of breeding rare game. With a business-like approach Pieter commenced with extensive infrastructure development and first created what is probably one of the best-established and operational bomas. After that came the demarcation of breeding camps, creating fenced pathways in which to relocate animals stress free, laying out roads and building a second purposefully-designed boma facility. In recent years, Pieter has strategically acquired some of the best and highly sought-after genetics available, making him one of the most prominent investors in the game breeding industry in southern Africa. The gene pool Pieter has acquired and developed over the last few years is widely regarded as one of the best in South Africa. As partners in success, Nambreed aims to deliver the best in rare game genetics! WR 2016 ISSUE 2 161