I was looking into a cape buffalo hunt in Mozambique today, and noticed a disturbing trend. With this outfitter you pay the trophy fees up front, and if you don't harvedt an animal tuff luck.

It is my understanding on the hunts I have been on in Zimbabwe, the quota is set at the beginning of the season for the concession. The outfitter pays then, and markets the hunts accordingly. If the client is unsuccesfull he is credited with the trophy fee. The outfitter is then able to offer the hunt to another client. this could be offered to a client comming later, or offered towards the end of the season thru a venue such as this forum. Hopefully being able to recover his costs.

I have seen a similar program to the one in Mozambique in Zambia. This takes all the risk off the outfitter, and places it completely on the client. As the client I have already invested in a daily rate, airfare, and importation of my firearms. If I didn't care about shooting an animal I could do a photographic safari. I know from experiance, if I ccome home without one of the prime trophies on my list I am dissapointed enough without having to pay for it also. What's to keep the outfitter from selling that animal to another hunter after I leave? Or for that matter sell hunts for animals he doesn't have? This could also tend to make a client take a trophy he might have turned down, in fear of not getting another chance. This promotes harvesting animals that are too young, and should have been left to breed for a few years.

I for one would like some form of protection. If I draw blood I expect to pay. I will pay without hesitation for an animal I have shot by mistake. I don't believe I should have to pay for an animal I haven't even shot at, or for that matter maybe haven't even seen.

I will not book a hunt with these outfitters.

10-4 on that....then it's not a Trophy Fee.

I agree. 100%.

If memory serves correctly, there are certain Coutada's or areas that include a license fee in addition to the trophy fee.

My understanding is one has to pay for the license fee for all animals you desire on quota. No refunds on the license fee.

This may (or may not) be what you're referring to?

quote:

I will not book a hunt with these outfitters.

+1

As far as I'm aware this is a Government Fee.

There are a number of countries where there is a license fee in addition to a trophy fee. You may or may not pay this license fee up front or it may be rolled into the trophy fee. As long as you know what you are expected to pay and when their is nothing dishonest about it.

I've not heard of any operator that has you pay the actual trophy fee up front and non refundable if the trophy is not taken or wounded. If that's the case I think I'd book with someone els ebut then again it would be no different than a North American hunt. You pay a flat fee for a brown bear, moose etc whether you actually shoot it or not.

Mark

I agree with Mark, I just planned a Mozambique trip and I think you have confused license fees with trophy fees... they are unusual but standard in some countries.

I think we have several P.H.'s who have offered hunts that included trophy fees up front, but offered a refund if not successful. Karl Stumpfe comes to mind as doing it once or twice.

Mark's right though, that most North American hunts are the same price, whether successful or not. Anyone fuss about that? Included in the price calculated by the seller are lots of things, I reckon: cost of the land (ownership or lease), probability of success, quality of game, self-imposed quotas by a landowner, value of landowner tags that can't be resold, limited licenses issued by the state or province (which limits numbers of market spots), etc. All of which go to supply and demand and the ultimate offered price to the consumer.

For instance, I used to go hunting with a Canadian fellow who had the right, as an outfitter in Manitoba, to sell 10 whitetail licenses/tags. Once I signed my name on the license, that tag was gone forever, my being successful or not being of no consequence. I could live with the fact that the guide had a product to sell and putting all of the factors above together, he weighted the market and priced his hunts as an opportunity, not success guaranteed.

One step further. I could have gone to a pen and paid almost nothing for a three-day hunt, but a huge "trophy" fee after "success". Not my cup of tea, though.

If, in Mozambique (or wherever), a particular concession can't sell the "opportunity" again, and has to pay for the quota (and trophy fees?) up front, and a bunch of similar factors to my friend in Manitoba come into play, I see no problem with the system.... unless the P.H. is a lazy bastard who has no character and doesn't do his best for his clients. That's where doing your homework is important.

As for me, I'd have to be pretty well assured of two things before I paid for non-refundable trophy fees. First, the game was in the concession and two, my P.H. had the personal integrity to bust his butt to bet game on the ground, already paid for or not. After all, that's almost exactly what I do in North America.

JMHO.

Ernest,

Thanks for reading my post more throughly than I did. I've modified it to reflect that I have seen trophy fees paid up front but those trophy fees were refundable if the game was not killed or wounded and not found. In fact I've advertised several of these deals myself.

Mark