Rancher of the year’s focus on community
SCHOOL holidays in the Kruger National Park planted the seed in a young boy who grew up to be crowned the Eastern Cape’s Wildlife Rancher of the Year at the weekend.
Woody Cape Wildlife chief executive Warrick Barnard, 38, lifted the coveted champion’s trophy at the Eastern Cape branch of Wildlife Ranching South Africa’s (WRSA-EC) annual gala dinner at Mentorskraal in Jeffreys Bay.
“My parents were both teachers, and every June school holiday the whole family would go to the Kruger Park,” he said.
“I think that is where the seed was planted that later grew into a passion for wildlife.”
Originally from Grahamstown, Barnard pursued a degree in accounting after school, but in 1997 abandoned his studies to chase his dream.
Despite facing many ups and downs along the way, he found a winning formula when he founded Woody Cape Wildlife, near Alexandria.
“I have amazing respect for all the game ranchers in this region.
“I have received so much support and guidance along the way and it is thanks to other farmers I was able to stick it out through the toughest of times,” Barnard said.
He is also founding member of the Signature Wildlife Group and chairman of the Eastern Cape Buffalo Forum.
Besides breeding game of exceptional genetics, Barnard also believes in the growth of his local community and is closely involved in a number of social development projects in the Alexandria and Salem communities.
“Without the buy-in and support of the local community, our business would be nothing. We need to support and grow them, create employment opportunities and assist where we can so that the entire community, and not just us, can benefit from our success.”
A leading project was training farming communities about invasive species and how to eradicate them.
This flourished into a business completely run by members of the community, who now act as contractors for farmers looking to remove invasive plants from their farms.
Looking ahead, Barnard believes the game industry has massive growth potential and hopes to see development in specifically hunting, breeding and eco-tourism in the Eastern Cape.
The pioneers of the province’s private game industry, Peter and Jenny Bean, were also honoured for paving the way for other ranchers in the Eastern Cape. They received the sought-after lifetime achievement award.
Peter, 60, started game drives into the Addo Elephant National Park in 1982, and in 1990 opened Schotia Safaris, just on the other side of the national park’s fence.
He married Jenny in 2000, and together they developed one of the most successful tourist destinations for high-impact game viewing in the region.