African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.

Herman Jonker

Hunting and your health - Herman Jonker

A healthy, outdoor pursuit where you get lots of fresh air and exercise? Sure, hunting is certainly that.

A stress-free activity where you can relax in the great outdoors and forget about all your troubles?

Yes! There's nothing like lazing around camp, working on your tan or taking a nap maybe. Swopping yarns round the campfire, watching the sun go down.

Oh, actually hunting, you mean?

Well eh, you could be swapping your worries for more immediate concerns when you actually go hunting. After all, dealing with a 800 kg buffalo bull that's rapidly heading your way with bad intent does tend to be a little more pressing than matters such as dripping taps or crashing stock markets.

But at least you will find yourself in a healthy, natural environment, as long as you keep an eye out for the odd black mamba or Mozambique spitting cobra. And check your boots for scorpions. Oh yes, and don't take any chances with malaria – take your pills and avoid the mozzies. Oh, and don't drink the water if you can help it, it's a bit dicey with bilharzia around. Otherwise you'll be fine – the bush is a pretty healthy place. Except maybe for ticks. But tickbite fever is no big thing; it blows over with the right treatment.

Otherwise there's not much that can harm you. Unless of course you include odds such as being struck by lightning or stepping on an old landmine. Or if you should be so rash as to get into a scrap with a leopard or some other sharp object.

Yes – hunting is a perfectly safe and healthy activity. Compare it with tennis, for example. I mean; everyone's heard of tennis elbow, so it's got to be a pretty serious condition and surely then tennis should be considered a dangerous sport. And athletics? With medieval weapons such as javelins and cannon balls being thrown about carelessly whilst other competitors are trying to jump higher than Masai morani? Hell, that sounds like dangerous stuff, there's even a mysterious condition called "athlete's foot" lurking around the track.

Hunting is a lot safer and healthier, I'd say. In fact, no particular malady even comes to mind when you mention hunting. Unless maybe you think about Hunt Syndrome.

The signs and symptoms of Hunt Syndrome include intense pain in the ear and mastoid bone, paralysis of the facial nerve, hearing loss, vertigo, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), taste loss in two-thirds of the tongue, dry mouth and dry eyes.

This sounds remarkably like someone who's just suffered a hell of a kick from a big bore Weatherby, but in fact it has nothing to do with hunting. Despite the name, it is a disorder that occurs when lesions of the Herpes Zoster virus affect the nerves of the ear.

Hunting is healthy and wholesome yes, but it is not entirely without ill effect on participants. The financial position of hunters, for instance, is often adversely affected by extended periods of hunting and sometimes there may also be slight problems concerning commitment to relationships and other matters of a binding nature. But this is no big thing.

Keen, regular hunters have learned that social hiccups such as divorce or financial ruin may interfere with their ability to hunt for a while, but things eventually sort themselves out and the hunter can then return to camp and get on with the happy business of hunting again.

But there is one affliction that stands apart. Something really serious. A virulent fever that invades a victim's mind and affects both cognitive and imaginative thoughts. Contagious, but also likely to strike at random, indiscriminate of creed or class. And, like all mental conditions, its effect is often more devastating to those close to the victim than on the victim himself.

I'm talking about Gotta Have It Syndrome – the need for a new rifle. It's been described as equivalent to being pregnant, but much more urgent and intense. A male with a serious attack of GHI may be bursting with the need for delivery in as little as 48 hours, in fact. Symptoms include compulsive behaviour and a vacant, preoccupied stare.

Normal conversation often becomes impossible as the sufferer grows more and more single minded and obsessed. Like an expectant mother he will frequent shops, browse through ads and become almost unbearable in company. His fixation with getting that rifle causes him to talk about nothing else, it alienates him from others.

For hunters and shooters who develop a desire for a particular rifle, this condition can be very, very serious because in their case, there is no immediate cure. Whereas the person who desperately has to have a Harley or a snowmobile can do so right away – albeit at the cost of debt – the man who is struck by a need for a rifle is dependent on the law for treatment of his tormented soul. Depending on where he lives, licence applications and approval can take months (recent cases in lawmongering South Africa have even taken 2 years) with no guarantee of a favourable outcome.

From the point of view of public health, this is a sick state of affairs. To be so highly pregnant for so long means terrible suffering and anyone who then wilfully withholds treatment from such a sufferer is guilty of nothing less than criminal cruelty.

Be warned therefore all you hunters out there: it is not disease or the creatures of the bush that threaten your health, it is politicians and their cruel ploys. The spitting cobra is not half as treacherous as the fork-tongued senator who drools venom into gun laws, the parasites of the bush not near as painful to bear with as those who doze unconcerned in the benches of parliament.

For the sake of your health: vote with care, and remember to wash your hands afterwards...