well worth the read
http://www.indystar.com/longform/new...intro/6865031/
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well worth the read
http://www.indystar.com/longform/new...intro/6865031/
While I do take some of the articles (chapters) with a grain of salt (as they're written with obvious bias) for the most part it rings true of an aspect of hunting that sickens me.
Mr Cook losses all credibility with his claims it's all about bringing home the meat....he is offered FREE does but yet still spends $13K on a buck with a Rack he's picked out of a catalogue prior to the hunt.
Sad little man.
Quote:
Light was fading on a mild October evening on the edge of the Ozark Mountains, and a hunter and his guide waited inside a box-shaped blind perched on metal legs above a soybean field.
Eight bucks meandered out of the woods.
"Which one am I trying to shoot?" asked Ronnie Cook, the 66-year-old hunter.
"You see him? He's got his head down," hunting guide James Smith whispered as one of the bucks began to nibble on soybeans.
Cook wasn't hunting for just any buck. He wanted a specific animal, one he had selected before the hunt from a collection of photographs at the Oak Creek Whitetail Ranch. It was as if he had selected the perfect trophy from a catalog, each buck with a price tag based on the size of its antlers. Cook's price: $12,900.
For two days, the retired trucker from Benton, Ark., had been looking for his deer on the 1,000-acre fenced preserve. Finally, Cook's trophy turned sideways, presenting its flank — and the vital organs just behind its right shoulder.
Cook's .300 Winchester Magnum rifle roared.
The deer crumpled, heart-shot.
Not much sport in that. To each his own I guess.
I like to leave it to lady luck for the trophy and hopefully get a bit of venison for the freezer from whatever else comes along.
I believe at that point it's called shooting, not hunting
I call it "shopping". It's bullshyte and gives the anti hunters all the ammo they need. Being in the good ol' USofA,though,if you've got money,you can do whatever the he** you want. The almighty dollar is all that seems to matter.Quote:
Originally Posted by TheBrianX
Oh,BTW,welcome to the forum.
'Quote:
Originally Posted by JMatthews
That is however the underlying story, the demand to accommodate the whims of the Mr Cooks of the hunting community is putting the 'wild' population at risk. By transporting Trophy racks/breeding stock back and forth across state lines, the potential to spread disease is increased dramatically. It's no longer "to each his own".....it has the potential to effect everyone.
I don't believe that "Canned hunts" have anything to do with actual hunting. TheBrianX (welcome to the Forum) has it right. It's like the English/European style of driven shoots - you have to be a good shot but it's not "hunting"!
Yeah it's definitely not hunting in my personal opinion and it certainly does aid in the anti's views of hunting being purely for sport, but that's $13,000 that goes into supporting conservation, just something to think about even if we don't agree with it.
Well this will be interesting....How do you figure that ?Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamedog
Coming from my financial situation I do not see the value in $13k for a "trophy" that being said, if you want to spend the money and as long as none of the meat is wasted more power to you.
Many find bird reserves perfectly acceptable.
Ethics aside. They're like ar(@)'s, everyone has their own. My concern is the disease side of it. When a farmed stock begins to effect the wild stock, a Genie has been let out of the bottle never to be returned. That is the real concern.
HA
That article sure makes it seem like a low life way to hunt and in some cases it may be but I know some high fenced hunting areas in Texas are huge like 10 000+ acres and I believe some are as big as 40 000 acres think about how big that is. Do you think the deer you hunt ever leave an area that big I think not. I'd say a deer could live it's whole life and never be seen in a 10 000 acre enclosure. I'm just saying that not all high fenced hunts are as easy as pick a deer out of a catalog and go kill him in a day.
Also not all high fenced hunting reserves import deer so no risk of moving disease around.
I think with the right laws put in place to ensure fair chase and no risk of spreading disease around it's not as bad as it sounds however with that said it's not for me I couldn't bring myself to hang a deer on my wall that was from a high fenced hunt
Africa is a lot of high fence hunting. But the fences are miles and miles apart. Animals are born and die of old age inside those fences and never actually see a fence.
(First off, I apologize if my post crams up, it doesn't want to keep the paragraph breaks when I make them) In areas where there are "trophy hunting" like wildlife reserves/game reserves, etc, they are normally funded by people purchasing tags on animals. In some places, they receive either no funding from the government (like Ducks Unlimited) and in other places, like certain game reserves in Africa, they receive funding from the government and the animals are therefore considered "government property". When you can protect such wide areas of land and the animals in them and charge people to come in and take one or two animals, you receive funding that goes back into conservation. Purchases of hunting equipment and such go into the programs that support things like Ducks Unlimited and government sections like the Ministry of Natural Resources. http://www.ducks.ca/assets/2013/10/H...UCconserve.png http://vpx.pl/i/2014/04/21/hunt1.jpg http://vpx.pl/i/2014/04/21/hunt2.jpg http://vpx.pl/i/2014/04/21/hunt3.jpg http://vpx.pl/i/2014/04/21/hunt4.jpg Places where trophy hunting is generally frowned upon seem to benefit the most from it, places like game reserves in Africa benefit from the purchases of tags because they can cull out the old/isolated/sick animals, making their animal populations stronger and more healthy, as well as aid in the locals and their crops/livestock that are trampled or eaten by animals roaming off of the reserve. Animals who roam and stomp all over their crops are usually seen as a nuisance and are killed and generally go to waste, compared to if a trophy hunter were to go in, the problem is resolved, the locals get money and free meat, and the hunter goes back with the animal he came to hunt. http://www.wildlifeextra.com/go/world/hunting.html agree that a lot of canned hunting is a bit silly, I find it strange to selectively feed and breed deer for gigantic racks, but that's a lot of money for a single animal.Quote:
Originally Posted by MikePal
The Government run and funded hunts of Africa are a far cry from 'Bubba's Big Bucks' outfitters in the US....The US private game farms are all about the money, plain and simple. They are in business to attract Big Game hunters that want a Trophy rack and are willing to pay for it. There is no thought given to the 'conservation' of the wildlife, because they are no longer wild, they are held in captivity; feed and breed for one purpose.
I agree with the comment, if they have the money to go on a canned hunt and the Ranch they go to is legal and controlled, it's up to the 'shooter' if he wants that kind of opportunity. However, what the article is pointing out is that in order to provide that genetic mutant deer to get these trophy racks, ranchers are buying/trading, breeding and shipping animals back an forth between other ranches, like they do with cattle. And because there aren't enough laws and enforcement to ensure that it's done safely, it opens the door for the spreading of disease into the 'wild' population.
The only aspect of conservation that enters the whole discussion is that because these so called 'Trophy' hunters are to lazy or ill equipped with the skills to be able to hunt the wild deer in the state and the true Trophies are still out there.
My only issue with canned hunts is the impact on native wildlife (ie disease transmission). Other then that, I dont really care how people spend their money. Its essentially a glorified trip to the grocery store.
Case in point I just spent $150 for a chance to fish a privately stocked trout lake. Landed a boatload of specs and rainbows (privately stocked and owned so no closed season or limits). How is that any different? Its not (leaving out the health concerns).
But the health concerns are too big of concern to overlook. For that reason I can't support canned hunts.
Strictly regulated African safari hunts in the government game parks are NOT fenced in (except along highways to prevent collisions) and the game parks encompass thousands of square miles as opposed to merely thousands of acres as you describe. American "for profit" hunting operations are just that.....for PROFIT. Of that,let there be no doubt. Any altruistic pursuits by these companies are a PR myth without one shred of honesty or integrity. I,also, question the ethics,honesty and morals of people who use them. Maybe it's just me,but,I have no regard for people that would pay someone to provide a defenseless,almost tame,farm-bred animal so some jacka** can walk out,shoot it and then go home and brag about what a great "hunter" he is to friends and family. People like that I equate with those that steal children"s candy at Halloween or shoot animals at the zoo. I wouldn't walk across the street to pee on them if they were on fire.Quote:
Originally Posted by Gamedog
I remember seeing a video once of a boar hunt where dogs chased the boar until it got cornered then a pit bull type dog was unleashed (fresh) and when that dog had the boar pinned down and exhausted the "hunter" came in with a knife, stabbed the boar to death and cut out the heart. I believe this was in a penned area as well. Seeing the killer holding up a bloody heart and his knife for the camera didn't impress me. Seems like the same with a canned hunt. I hope they feel like real hunters to themselves but don't impress me.
aahhh come one...we've all guilty of that...they went to bed and wouldn't miss that 1 crispy crunch :)Quote:
Originally Posted by trimmer21
It's not my cup of tea and I do understand the argument about the transferring of diseases with the potential of them being transferred to wild animals but that risk is always there even with a crow being blown in on a storm . I find the massive racks from many of these places grotesque . The thing is about some of these canned hunts is that it does allow for the physically challenged to still be able to hunt because of the accommadations etc they can provide . Also many hunts are held on huge tracts of lands as has been mentioned . In some ways it's not a heck of a lot different than fishing some of our small back lakes that are stocked . We can't catalogue the fish but I'm sure some get the point .
No way would I pay that kind of coin to hunt a monster that is genetically bred and fed even if I could afford it which I can't . To do so would make me feel like I have bought a bigger, shinier truck just to say "ha,ha " to my neighbour or friend because I can . That is not how I roll .
Does it give the antis fuel for their fire ? Of course it does but then again the veggys are against anyone who eats anything that bleeds whether it has been farmed or hunted .
TD
Ya our version of canned https://encrypted-tbn2.gstatic.com/i...5VcnCQwTJmH4vQhunts is far more tasteful. You're right. Unlike the Europeans We are proud of not being proficient with arm. I'll take a guy doing a canned over the box of junk ammo, three boxes of beer, and wound away I see all to commonly.Quote:
Originally Posted by GoldenLakePete
I'm thinking about a saying with glass houses and stones. Ya while most canukians are wounding like all get out perhaps We shouldn't be on a high horse
Really,standup? You're too funny. Yuk-Yuk's anyone?Quote:
Originally Posted by standup
People who derive satisfaction from paying to shoot an unhealthy, unnatural, genetic freak of a buck in a pen are probably the same kind of people who pay a prostitute and then walk away saying to themselves, "I think she really likes me".
Interesting read.
I really find it very sad what the world can come too. There is nothing ethical about this industry and certainly it is not hunting in any way shape or form. It is purely profit driven and nothing more.