This was mentioned on the Sable and Roan in SA thread but I thought it might deserve it's own. What companies or PH's hunt in Burkina Faso? Would a non French speaking client be at a disadvantage there? This is the best place
I know of to pick up info on African hunting and that's what this thread is about.
Rich Elliott

Rich,

I have read stories of non-French speaking hunters hunting there, and they all report having had great hunts.

May be we have some of uor own members who have hunted there can give us their first hand experience.

Don't know about Burkina Faso but its neighbours Benin and Togo have good populations of roan apparently? I have seen hunt reports from Benin in the past.

I once saw an imported group of young roan (supoosedly part of a group of 72) in RSA that were flown in from Togo to be restablished on a reserve somewhere in Mpumalanga, near Nelspruit if memory serves me correctly. The guy who had them, a capture and african game specialist, has now been fingered in some really dodgy scams and unethical prictices....mmmmm makes one wonder!

Rich,

This guy apparently books Burkina Faso African Hunting Adventures

Here's a guy who runs a hotel and a safari company [Website in French]Richard Julia

This guy used to hunt there [his website is out of date] Richard Rouget. In the last year or two, Rouget had gotten in trouble with one of the governments in West Africa for some involvement with some mercenaries. So not sure he is even still in the business.

The most recent report on the Hunting Report is from a 2004 hunt where the hunter hunted with Richard Julia. He said it is not up to the standards of Southern Africa and that the language can be a problem.

It seems to me that a few years ago, there was a "buzz" about hunting Burkina Faso. That seems to have died down in the last couple of years.

Regards,

Terry

One of the German booking agents hunted there in 2004. He did it on his own and rented out the safari camp and trucks from the goverment. Took 10 animals in 10 days and it was like $8000.

The first person to be arrested under the Foreign Military Assistance Act was French-born Francois Richard Rouget, who had recruited South Africans to fight as mercenaries in Africa.

Rouget was sentenced to five years in prison or a R100 000 (US$13 300) fine in August last year (2003) after pleading guilty to involvement in mercenary activities in Ivory Coast.

"I acted only out of friendship with the Ivory Coast government... I still do not believe it was a crime as I acted at the request of a legitimate government," Rouget told a newspaper then.

************************************************************

February 4, 2004
South African mercenary Richard Rouget is also reportedly in Iraq although his activities there are unclear.

Rouget was recently sentenced to five years in jail or a R100,000 fine for recruiting pilots and infantry troops for the civil war in Ivory Coast.

The South Africans trained government soldiers and actively participated in the fighting themselves. Each was paid about e6,000.

A further five-year sentence was suspended on condition that Rouget was not found guilty of a similar offence.

Sounds like one hell of a good background for a PH. Good outdoor skills, great physical fitness, calm in face of diveristy.

I'd like to hunt with him, I'll bet he's got some ineresting "hunting" stories!

In 2001 I met Richard Rouget in Piet Hougaard's camp in Mozambique. The guy looked like he stepped off the pages of GQ, was in very good physical shape and looked like he could handle himself in any situation. He was guiding a tiny, effeminate Frenchman armed with a 460 Weatherby on a buff, lion and leopard hunt. Around the camp fire one evening I ask him how he got into hunting and, because of his demeanor and bearing, ask if he was ever in the military. He confirmed that he had served in the military, but his response indicated he did not wish to discuss this subject further. He had an arrogance about him one usually encounters with SF operators. He did manage to get his client a huge leopard during the hunt.

That was an interesting camp in that it was occupied by Mozam government officials, South Africans (both Dutch and English extract) Zimbos, Frenchmen, Austrailians and one Oklahoma redneck. I have heard some crap about Piet over the years, but he was good to me and his father was a hoot to share a camp with as he gave everyone a hard time, especailly the Aussies and government guys.

Perry

A friend has been to Burkina Faso twice (I have never been). Apparently, it was hot as anything, but hunting was successful - good roan and buffalo (apparently one of two kinds, but don't ask me about details).

There is an incomplete website available. E-mail for more information if you are interested.

- mike

Try the Club Faune website.

quote:

Originally posted by MARK H. YOUNG:
Try the Club Faune website.

Mark,

Club Faune is guiding in Benin, not in Burkina.

Richard Rouget was not in jail last year when he offered me a safari in Mozambique. In fact there is very few tougher (and secretive) guys on earth, a most capable PH and soldier.

To answer Rich's question, it's unlikely the Burkina's outfitters would be profficient in English.
Most of them are Burkinabe and their PHs too, speaking perfectly french, the official language.

I hunted in BF in 2003+2004 at Namoungou safaris, run by a Libanese (redhaired and blue eyes)Toufic.......

whose wife is from Ghana, thus English speaking.
Anyhow, Toufic is not dumb to the point of lending You his wife to hunt all day long.

We are in fact considering using an interpret (a reporter friend, perfectly fluent in English and German)to come with clients on short periods either in Burkina or in the CAR.

Nothing can beat Burkina Pricings about ROAN, BUFF and LION.

The language is an hinderance: here on this forum 2 guys were in the Burkina

ERNEST GILBERT (aka JudgeG) French speaking
ERIKD French mumbling

The troubles with American clients are to be considered. Most French hunters (like Belgians,Italians and Spaniards) are easy going guys, not too demanding.
Not so with the Americans who hardly stand punctures, delays, conditionned-air lack, grossly they want anything to be ship shape. What is really hard to achieve in shambolic Africa. Some outfitters are reaching this difficult goal but consequently are really expensive.

So take in consideration LANGUAGE and AMERICAN STANDARDS.

I am very familar with hunting in Burkina Faso from 1988 to 1994 but not since then. In 1988 I worked for 9 months shooting game for meat at the Nazinga Game Ranch. We had 20,000 head of big game and took 750 animals the first year. I then took hunting safaris there for trophies. Once the place started making money the govermnment took Nazinga over and it soon went kaput.

In my day there were 650 buffalo and we shot 8 bulls a year. I hear now that they have been completely exterminated and would like to hear from someone who has been there recently to hear if this is true.

When I was there we had 500 elephants increasing at the rate of 8 % a year. It was the only expanding herd of elephants in West Africa and we tagged and radio collared them regularly.

I would like to know if there are any left. Last I heard about 5 years ago they had been reduced to about 300 frightened animals.


VBR,


Ted Gorsline



I also did a float trip down the Sorou River and hunted in the extreme east around Arli Park as well. I hunted birds at Sorou dam in the north on the border of Mali.

This is the e-mail of an outfitter living and operating there he also speaks some English. I know he is very successful on lion, roan and buffalo and an honest Guy.
His office is in France, prices seem very attractive compared with southern Africa.



Service Evasion Sport [sevas@free.fr]


Cheers