I was born into a family of hunting enthusiasts and raised in the South East of Zimbabwe. Shadowing my father everywhere he went soon exposed me to hunting and wildlife. I shot my first animal, a duiker at the age of 5 with him and ever since that day, I’ve been a “hunting nut”. As a kid I spent hours daily interacting, hunting birds and trapping mice with the local children, and unbeknown to me this is probably where I started developing some of my hunting skills and understanding of wildlife. At the age of 7 I accompanied my father on an elephant and buffalo hunt in the Zambezi Valley and this was to later prove to be the first of my many, many Dangerous Game hunts
After completing my secondary education at Peterhouse School in Zimbabwe, I then attended Hartpury College in the UK, where I left with a Diploma in Conservation and Wildlife Habitat Management. On returning to Zimbabwe I joined one of the most respected and long standing operators, Roger Whittall Safaris, with whom I learnt a great deal and subsequently passed the most stringent of Africa’s hunting examinations and apprenticeships, becoming a fully licensed Zimbabwe Professional Hunter in 2003. I continued to be one of Roger Whittall Safaris PHs for a few years before being offered another contract by a well known operation back then, Zambezi Hunters with Whom I worked with for several years before starting my own company Thierry Labat Safaris.
With my ability to speak French fluently, doors opened for me in the Central African Republic and Cameroon, where I have been hunting since 2006 and continue to do so today. Since 2003, I have hunted with clients in Cameroon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Mozambique, Mauritius, South Africa, Botswana, Namibia, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Zimbabwe and continue to have a great relationship with operators in all the mentioned countries. Zimbabwe is home to me, where I live with my beautiful wife Suzie who plays a major role in my operations and son Jake. Hunting will always be a part of me, for as long as I live.
To Me Hunting is not about prizes and awards but I am humbled to say that along the way I have been recognised by the Zimbabwe Professional Hunters Association for my hard work and was awarded the Professional Hunter of the Year 2011, 2016 and 2020 “In recognition of a consistent aspiration to harvest Award-Winning quality specimens with clients in Zimbabwe and across Africa whilst promoting the ethical ideals of sustainable utilization”
Some other awards I’ve had the privilege of attaining during my career are:
- Best Bow Hunting guide 2011
- Best Dangerous Game taken outside of Zimbabwe 2013, And Best plainsgame taken outside of Zimbabawe 2013.
- Best Elephant taken out of Zimbabwe 2017
- Best Leopard taken out of Zimbabwe 2017.