Awards

The Musgrave Award

The Musgrave award is the highest possible honour that can be bestowed on any hunter by the organised hunting sport in South Africa.

In making the Musgrave award, consideration is given to the integrity and merit of the entire hunting career of the person involved. In the words of the Confederation of Hunting Associations of South Africa (CHASA), which makes the award, “The eventual honour bestowed must be seen as the logical outcome of years, or perhaps of a lifetime of dedicated and disciplined hunting … Challenging demands are set and in the end every candidate must live up to the highest expectations imaginable. Amongst others it is requested of the elected hunter to be a worthy ambassador of the hunting sport, to subscribe vigorously to the ethics of hunting, and to diligently associate with conservation and everything it implies”.

The following conditions apply:

  • Any person may receive the award only once in his lifetime.
  • The award is not necessarily given out annually. Its presentation depends solely on the merit of the nominees.
  • To be nominated a candidate must have attained a minimum of 120 points. This figure is inter alia made up by way of an evaluation of the number which is 54, and the quality of species of game, that were hunted in Southern Africa. These species, all regarded as trophy animals, are to be found south of the Kunene and Zambezi rivers.
  • In addition, the minimum of 120 points also includes an assessment of the hunter’s contributions towards the promotion and enhancement of organised hunting. The final decision for awarding the Musgrave trophy rests with CHASA.

Speaking at the annual general meeting of the KwaZulu-Natal Hunting and Conservation Association, on receipt of the award, Peter Flack said that recording trophies had very important conservation implications.

“It didn’t take me long to realise what an important conservation tool a record book could be. Obviously where, over a period of time, trophy standards have been improving then, in all likelihood, conservation standards in that area will have improved and the converse is also true,” he said.

Peter said he was honoured to belong to the KwaZulu-Natal Hunting and Conservation Association, the second oldest in South Africa, which nominated him for the award and lauded its commitment to conservation and bio-diversity, which he said was exceeded only by its involvement in community projects in the province. The association is the first of its kind to engage in community development. Among other things, it manages the hunting camp and hunting opportunities on the farm Bambatha’s Kraal near Greytown on behalf of the Ngome traditional community.

The Bataleur Award

In 2015, Peter was the recipient of The Bataleur Award. This is the highest award of the South African Hunting and Conservation Association, with over 40 000 members, the largest association of its kind in the southern hemisphere. It cannot be applied for but its grant is within the sole discretion of SA Hunters and is accompanied by honorary life membership.

The Selous Award

In 2016, Peter was the recipient of the inaugural Selous Award by the African Professional Hunters Association (APHA). The award is given to the amateur hunter who has contributed most to hunting on the continent and who the professional hunters would most like to come on safari with them. The award cannot be applied for and is solely in the discretion of members of APHA.

Jason Roussos, President of APHA, said in his speech that, “The APHA is an organization made up of members that represent some of Africa’s top Professional Hunters.

Making this award truly unique, is the fact that it is actually these professional hunters who have nominated and decided the first ever winner of this prestigious award.

Unlike other awards, which determine a winner based on criteria such as species counts and trophy sizes, the Selous Award is fundamentally based on a single criterium – a passion for African hunting.

One cannot quantify passion … instead one can only feel it and experience it. As a result, there is no better group of people to choose a winner for this award than the people who live, breathe and even die for the African hunt. And these people are the African PHs themselves.

In his acceptance speech, Peter said as follows, “I am honoured, humbled and flattered in almost equal measures to receive this award. You and your members are the men and women I admire most in the African hunting fields and your “unashamedly ethical” stance resonates in the very marrow of my bones. I am delighted that I will become an honorary life member of APHA and look forward to helping promote the organisation and its mission statement.”