Doing what you love is the cornerstone
of having abundance in your life.
Castle de Wildt is privately owned by the Groenewald family and is the exclusive auction house for its extended range of wildlife. All animals are in excellent condition and cared for by a large team of experienced people who are animal lovers and conservationists. We commit to caring for all animals young, old or sick as that forms part of the responsibility of our profession. We believe strongly in the positive effect created by our breeding programs for the conservation of certain key species. Our breeding programs in fact have greatly assisted us in raising awareness, as there is no doubt that most people who experience scarce game breeding programs or have interaction of some sorts with these magnificent animals, are positively influenced towards conservation issues. All our animal records are carefully recorded and DNA profiled in-house and certified by Unistell.
Our goals and objectives in breeding rare game species are:
- To establish and grow a sustainable market share of privately owned rare game species to be recognized as an industry leader and authority in the wildlife breeding industry of Southern Africa.
- To carefully and accurately upheld the scientific recording process of each individual animal to record DNA and genetic analysis).
- To uphold and maintain only the highest standards of excellence (breed standards) for all species and colour variants.
- By religiously and faithfully upholding and maintaining the stud to maintain scientific breeding strategies and eradicate inbreeding in all our species.
- To uphold a no tolerance policy against unacceptable practices such as hybridization and cloning in totality.
- To ethically embrace the business principles about genetic defects and genetic manipulation.
- To responsibly select excess animals not fit enough to uphold the stringent requirements for breeding, to be supplied to the ever-growing hunting demand as well as food security.
Having experienced a variety of auctions personally, Bernard shaped a vision to be an honest, empathetic and impactful project leader and to be recognized internationally within his industry. His commitment to growing as a leader and delivering value-added products to the end users, drove him to formulate trends for others to follow.
The formula:
- From the onset the Castle de Wildt aimed to offer visitors an amazing auction experience. When at first driving through the gates and acknowledging the silent salute of knights guarding on both sides, one immediately experience a warm Boere hospitality. Everyone is welcome and treated with old school heartiness. At Castle de Wildt, the buyer is the king of the castle. No compromise for comfort: Cinematic/comfort/farmyard feeling created, attention to quality of sound, quality of projections, climatic control, noise reduction, snacks and drinks within reach, creating the utmost buyer environment.
- Everyone is welcome!
- Transport and insurance can be arranged. All animals sold are ensured until 14 days after delivery. Unmatched service!
- No buyer goes home empty handed. Added value not only in the genetics of the animal, but in transport, insurance, peace of mind, premium memorabilia, and after sales service.
- After sales experience: All animals sold at auction are personally delivered either by owners, breeders, close associates, family/from loading to delivery, every step is supervised. Castle de Wildt prides ourselves in excellent care in after sales service, retaining contact, following the well-being and progress of each animal sold.
Part of this formula included:
- Location is key! Finding the perfect location was of paramount importance and having established Castle de Wildt in Modimolle – the gateway to the Bushvled and Waterberg and at the heart of the breeding industry – was the first step in fulfilling Bernard’s vision.
- Figuring out the best conditions for the animals. The well-being of the animals when in boma was a niche design and set the pace for others to follow. This was initiated by researching and solving questions such as:
– How should I design my bomas?
– What does an animal experience when under stress? - Castle de Wildt pioneered the first ever walkway with mesh confusing the animals eyes, resulting in the animal seeing people without being intimidated by the experience.
All bomas were designed in order to minimize the stress levels of the animal, with careful attention paid to matters such as light flow, heat, boma size and movement of animals. All these contributed to the very important process of offloading and uploading animals being to calmly and passively on and from trucks. - Ensuring the effectiveness of the venue. Full attention and a of planning went into designing an effective layout for the complete venue. This was done very effectively with the right look and fee.