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I highly suggest it, except that right before the credits rolled they posted "Over 2,000 leopards are sport hunted every year in Africa."

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Originally posted by SteveGl:
If memory serves, the Joubert's & friends took over what had been a large hunting concession in the delta and converted it to a very high-end photo concession, part of the antis method of outbidding the hunting outfitters and banning hunting - a practice also employed in Canada (I think).

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Originally posted by Bwanamich:
Dereck Joubert and his associates are FERVENT ANTI-HUNTERS through and through. Mr Joubert is a very close friend and confidant of Khama (Botswana's president)and is the the main reason Botswana is quickly closing down hunting. Unfortunately, his mission in life by his own admission is to wage war against hunting in every shape or form. Sadly, he has recently secured a hunting concession (EX Zuka safaris) in the heart of the Selous and turned it into a photographic block (You may remember the case of the guide that was killed by an elephant about a year ago whilst guiding students from the UK on a foot safari for a british tv relaity show in the Selous?). He has huge financial backing to fight hunting and the mode operandi is to take over hunting concessions through tons of $$$ for high end photo tourism. The donors help subsidize the otherwise low income generated by the commercial venture. He IS poison! He formed the "Great Plains Conservation " organization for this exact purpose. You can google it and draw your own conclusions.

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I would not like to think that the fate of the bab was deliberately left out in order to make viewers more sympathetic to the Leopard.

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Originally posted by Bill C:
I have always thought that one can be pro-hunting and pro-conservation, but perhaps this is not realistic. Maybe one must "take sides", I don't know.

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And so how do we take on the likes of Joubert?

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Originally posted by Bill C:
Lane, yes, of course you are right and we all believe that hunting is conservation, I was too loose in what I wrote…but I’m not sure what the proper descriptive would be. Let me try it this way - Are there "conservation organizations" and/or people out there who not only “tolerate" hunting, but support it as part of their approach? For every one Joubert, are there two or three “good guys” in it for the right reasons and with a realistic and ethical approach? Who are our "friends" that we should support? What about the WWF?

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Originally posted by Bill C:
Lane, yes, of course you are right and we all believe that hunting is conservation, I was too loose in what I wrote…but I’m not sure what the proper descriptive would be. Let me try it this way - Are there "conservation organizations" and/or people out there who not only “tolerate" hunting, but support it as part of their approach? For every one Joubert, are there two or three “good guys” in it for the right reasons and with a realistic and ethical approach? Who are our "friends" that we should support? What about the WWF?

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But we need to police up our own community and have greater restrictions on the video releases that are distributed by hunters first, especially those posted on YouTube and exchanged via email.

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Originally posted by ledvm:

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But we need to police up our own community and have greater restrictions on the video releases that are distributed by hunters first, especially those posted on YouTube and exchanged via email.

This is a fair statement.

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Originally posted by SteveGl:
"As much as we can debate this and as sad as it may be, we can no longer stand behind hunting! For years we tolerated it because it seemed like some spiritual journey in itself. Today we have come to the conclusion we should have years ago: hunting is no longer anything like this, It is all about the kill, and sadly now there is no doubt that hunting now falls under the category of recreation (even mentioned as such in official brochures and websites.) We don't believe that it is ethical to enjoy killing animals (or anything) and while it may be acceptable to kill and eat meat, the enjoyment of that process is shameful. Sport hunting, recreational hunting, blood sports are no longer acceptable morally. To any who say that they enjoy hunting for the bushcraft and chase we say that it is easy to find a substitute today for both of those. In a place called Palmwag in Namibia for example (a Wilderness safaris area) Chris Bakas will take you walking up to black rhinos. His challenge to you will be to get close enough to take a photograph, however you will have failed if the rhino detects you, and failed twice if it charges. Now that is a challenge greater than driving up and shooting an elephant the size of the average African dwelling from your vehicle. That deals with the clients, but the guides or professional hunters should know better, many have grown up with the scent of African sage in their noses and understand her songs. But so many things are being done today in the hunting industry under their watch (that we have seen and filmed or photographed) that the words “ethically bankrupt” are applicable here. If there is to be a hunting industry at all in the future there must be a new way of management of the hunters, by the hunters themselves, with full accountability for their actions, as morally disturbing as sanctioned killing of animals for the fun of it is." - the Jouberts

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As much as I despise slob hunters and others who denegrate our sport, I can't with any clear conscious support restrictions on free speech. While we'd like to edit and surpress what these people vomit onto the Internet or spread via email, if that power were available then this very website could--and most probably would--be shut down by the anti-hunters.

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As much as we can debate this and as sad as it may be, we can no longer tolerate the Jouberts and their ilk! For years we tolerated it because it seemed like they educated the public and provided entertaining documentaries. Today we have come to the conclusion we should have years ago: that wildlife documentaries are no longer anything like this. It is all about the money and playing to the ignorance of people who simply don’t understand nature, and sadly now there is no doubt that documentaries now strive to misinform rather than inform (even in official brochures and websites.) We don't believe that it is ethical to profit from misinformation about animals (or anything) and while it is only natural to kill and eat meat, the enjoyment of that process is part of life, as is memorializing the experience with a trophy. Sport hunting and recreational hunting are blood sports, but so too is life a blood sport. Documentaries which do nothing more than indoctrinate and misinform are no longer acceptable morally. To any who say that they enjoy the Joubert’s films for their educational value, we say that you will learn much more by partaking in the experience of hunting. There are many places where a guide will get you close enough to photograph animals, but you will be forbidden to kill them. Then you will return to a lodge where the guides will tell you that hunting is wrong – and then feed you the same species of animal that you just photographed, killed by someone else. Many of the photo guides have grown up with the scent of African sage in their noses and understand nature’s song. They should know better. The killing of animals is part of life. When the photo-safari industry, especially the Jouberts, shows photographs and films that misinform and present a warped view of reality and of nature, the words “ethically bankrupt” are applicable. If there is to be wildlife at all in the future there must be a new way of management of the film-makers, by the hunting community, the conservation community and by the film-making industry itself, with full accountability for their actions, as dishonest and morally disturbing as their films often are.