According to Denver Isaacs, crime reporter for the Namibian newspaper in Windhoek, police have taken the unusual step of charging Von Plocki with murder and negligent discharge of a firearm. Isaacs says that should not be taken to mean that Von Plocki deliberately killed Seefeldt. In fact, the police report indicates that Von Plocki was loading his rifle when it went off.
There is good reason to believe the charges against Von Plocki will ultimately be reduced to the equivalent of the US crime of negligent homicide, Isaacs says. He promised to keep The Hunting Report up to date on developments.
As this is written, Von Plocki is free on bail of $3,000 (Namibian). I plan to follow this incident closely, just as I do other accidents and fatal incidents in the field. Our condolences go out to the Seefeldt family who operate a hunting guest farm in Namibia called Silversand. The operation is booked in the US through the T. Jeffrey Safari Company, www.tjsafari.com.
Still in Namibia, I had the opportunity at SCI to talk with that country's Deputy Minister of Environment and Tourism, Leon Jooste, about the auctioning of state hunting concessions. For two years now, the country has been deadlocked over the auctioning of these areas, causing some concern about the country's overall commitment to hunting. Not to worry, was Jooste's reply to my questions. "The areas are going to be auctioned this spring," he affirmed.
Jooste reiterated what I have said here about the auction deadlock - namely, that it is grounded in the country's need to create a new legal framework for hunting. Without........(continued)
