Shooting straight – defending you and yours within the law

South Africa’s ongoing farm attacks and murders have achieved national and international attention, and often condemnation, and have become a major worry for farmers, their families and employees, and other rural residents.

The leaders of two national private-sector agricultural associations independently agree that, given this intensity of rural crime in combination with the fact that farm attackers are themselves often armed with illegally acquired guns, all of their members should legally purchase and own firearms to give themselves a fighting chance against criminals.

Chris van Zyl, assistant general manager at TAU SA, says that irrespective of the country’s “promising” Rural Safety Strategy announced by the South African Police Service (SAPS) in late 2019, the level of crime affecting the agriculture sector “leaves much to be desired”.

HELP IS OFTEN FAR AWAY

“Most farm dwellers live beyond the distances within which effective intervention by police and private security is assured, [and] their vulnerability should be acknowledged by the state. Farm dwellers have to