WHY I HUNT

Here is a little writeup I posted on a Facebook page that discusses hunting, poaching and anti-hunting while bored in bed. Some of you may find it worth a read.

The threats to wildlife here in Africa are much different to the ones you have in developed countries. My main objective here is to protect and increase wildlife in a country where wildlife is under huge pressure. I rarely shoot animals personally. I don’t feel the need to go and kill animals for myself. When I shoot it will be because there could be a dangerous situation coming up or there is a dangerous situation in progress. I will shoot if I need to get meat for myself or someone else. And I will shoot if there is a problem animal as a crop raider or a man-eater. The two biggest threats to wildlife here are population growth and legislation made by western countries based on political pressure and emotional feelings rather than scientific evidence. So not only do I have to deal with the problems within the country but have to fight people who are thousands of kilometers away and have no clue about the situation on the ground. People that have done studies in a place where everything is different to here and think they have the solutions for something they don’t know about. So I do not agree that international organizations should be dictating to local people how to do things if they wont understand the drivers of the depleting wildlife and forests in Africa. But I do think that in a perfect world that the state in each country should be controlling what is going on in its own country. The problem in our countries here is the corruption going on in the governments and that very few in government and local communities actually care about wildlife. Government only cares about money and don’t see the long-term value in nature and wildlife. Local poor communities only see wildlife as a nuisance and threat to their own existence, because animals raid the little incomes they have from their fields or kill their livestock or in worst case kill humans. Because of an exponential human population growth poverty is increasing with it. And because of bad agricultural practices, deforestation is growing at a devastating rate. With the habitat loss animals are succumbing to starvation, retaliatory killing by the people that live with the animals or just desperate starving people that need food.
Now to be successful in in conserving wildlife and forests or other natural habitat all of these problems need to be addressed. And it is an uphill task, which often makes me want to quit. But it seems I continue trying.

Zambia has a third of its landmass set aside for wildlife protection either as National Park where photographic safaris is the revenue source or hunting area where hunting is the revenue source. Out of this total area one third is National parks and two thirds are hunting areas. If you take away the trophy hunting, what do you think will happen? Wildlife will deplete within a few years in TWO THIRDS of the areas that were previously holding wildlife. Some people will then say, just turn the hunting areas into National parks. Well the fact is that there are not even enough people and funding to fully protect all the existing national parks in the country. So how are they going to succeed in three times bigger areas?


Hunting creates employment, funding for community projects and meat from hunted animals is given to the starving people. This gives the animals value to the people and an incentive not to kill them. Much the same way the photographic tourism brings in revenue through employment and funding for community projects less the protein part. One trophy hunter will pay what a hundred photographic clients will pay and have far less environmental impact on the area he/she is visiting.

What I do. I with some investors have taken a piece of land that was not a hunting area or National Park but potentially ideal wildlife habitat, that still had not been deforested, and turned it into a prime wildlife area. This was community land that was bound to be deforested because it didn’t have any protection and is in close proximity to the villages. It still had a bit of wildlife existing and it bordered a hunting area where wildlife would cross over and re-inhabit the area if it was protected. Through private funding and after a few years funding from trophy hunters we have turned a depleted area into a wildlife haven. The only current option we have to get funding is through trophy hunting. Therefore, I could not care less if a trophy hunter gets a kick and can boost his ego by hanging a trophy on his wall to showoff as long as the animal has been killed in an ethic way.

What I need is funds to protect the wildlife and the trophy hunters are the only ones prepared to drop that kinda cash. Anybody who says I’m wrong is welcome to come pay the bills so that we stop the trophy hunting. But no one ever seems to be keen on doing that! Until someone has a viable alternative to hunting in my area I shall continue to do so whether you find it right or wrong.

Note our area is not fenced and wildlife moves freely. We kill less than two percent of the wildlife population in our area. We are so successful at what we do that the bit of poaching that goes on in our area does not affect the population growth anymore.

In this past season, I did a hunt in a GMA for another operator in Zambia. This was the first season for this company to operate. The GMA had not been hunted since 2012. It had been dormant for 5 years. I had heard stories about the beauty of this area and the abundance of wildlife it boasted in the past. But it saddened me to see what had happened in the past 5 years. The poaching in the area had been significant and it was easy to see how it had effected the area. Not only poaching, but several illegal logging sites were found and illegal fishermen had diminished the fish population in the rivers with small nets and poison.

The hunt I did there was for leopard. We quickly got some leopards on bait. After seeing that one of the males had a snare around its neck we decided to hunt this one. It was clearly suffering and struggled to breath. The photos show how bad the leopard must have had it. The snare had cut through skin and flesh and only an inch of skin between head and shoulders was still intact.

So when you start bitching about how bad hunting is, I want you to think of this leopard that you were not there to help with your Facebook post sharing when it really needed your help. When you consider signing a petition to stop hunting I want you to think about how this leopard felt when you were not there to help it with your online petition. When you feel hate for people that hunt I want you to remember that this happened to this leopard because hunting was stopped. It is your fault that this leopard’s life was miserable for its last 3 months or so! If you succeed in closing the hunting in these area, then this is the fate for the rest of the animals. All of them will die a slow and painful death like this leopard was bound to do. And it will be your fault!

Hunting is not the ideal solution for all areas. There are places where non-consumptive tourism is better and other areas are more suited for other kinds of conservation. But at the moment the majority of the remaining wildlife habitat in Africa is under protection from some form of hunting. And hunting is the best you can get out of these area as things are in this day and age. Until something big changes you have to live with hunting in these areas or no wildlife whatsoever. What do you choose?

All of the western world countries are slowly trying to strangle these areas with legislation that make it harder and less profitable to do trophy hunting in Africa. Even if it has nothing to do with them at all. And by doing so the viability of these hunting areas is diminishing. It is a bit ironic that majority of these countries allow hunting on their own species. And in most cases, at some stage have themselves once eradicated their own wildlife species.

Very well said!!!!

Best regards, D. Nelson

It’s a well said piece to anti hunters.

Unfortunately, it does tend to allow them to demonize hunters and tends to portray you as a mercenary who would rather hunting be stopped if it was not for the money.

The comment on the client getting a kick out of it and you don’t care will reinforce their belief that the client is an evil person, even if they are providing needed funding.

I don’t know you personally, maybe that’s the way you really feel, although from reading your past comments I doubt that is true... there are easier ways to make a living than being a PH, so most that I know do it because they love to hunt.

Why I hunt is because I enjoy it, and I want it to continue to be available after I’m gone. A mass produced game viewing safari just isn’t the same. The killing, and eating, and being part of the cycle of life is something that is part of existence and some of us feel a need to personally participate. It doesn’t make one necessarily better than another, but it just is.

Lots of folks decry the trophy taking part, but to me, it is basically like getting a memento of that animal. I can see, touch, and to some extent smell that animal whenever I wish. Some folks buy little cups or t shirts. Some keep posters of concerts or other mementos of their lives.

I keep a part of that animal. How you want to commemorate your life is an individual choice.

To the antis, I would suggest that they consider would they like someone else (perhaps someone like me) telling them what they can or cannot keep for memory’s sake?

How are you doing after your accident Thor?

Hope well.

Well said in your post!

Very well said!

Very nice write up!

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
It’s a well said piece to anti hunters.

Unfortunately, it does tend to allow them to demonize hunters and tends to portray you as a mercenary who would rather hunting be stopped if it was not for the money.

The comment on the client getting a kick out of it and you don’t care will reinforce their belief that the client is an evil person, even if they are providing needed funding.

I don’t know you personally, maybe that’s the way you really feel, although from reading your past comments I doubt that is true... there are easier ways to make a living than being a PH, so most that I know do it because they love to hunt.

Why I hunt is because I enjoy it, and I want it to continue to be available after I’m gone. A mass produced game viewing safari just isn’t the same. The killing, and eating, and being part of the cycle of life is something that is part of existence and some of us feel a need to personally participate. It doesn’t make one necessarily better than another, but it just is.

Lots of folks decry the trophy taking part, but to me, it is basically like getting a memento of that animal. I can see, touch, and to some extent smell that animal whenever I wish. Some folks buy little cups or t shirts. Some keep posters of concerts or other mementos of their lives.

I keep a part of that animal. How you want to commemorate your life is an individual choice.

To the antis, I would suggest that they consider would they like someone else (perhaps someone like me) telling them what they can or cannot keep for memory’s sake?

You are very right sir.
I wrote this to be read by the anti's so that so I twisted my personal views a little to suite the antis better and insure I have the upper hand. And I did. Non of them really had anything firm agains what I wrote. And if you saw comments you would see that I did win over a couple of fence sitters. Not entirely but they admitted I was right.

I do enjoy hunting. It sits in my blood and even if I tried I couldn't get it out of me. I get a massive kick out of seeing the happiness in a client that succeeds in taking a hard earned trophy. Even more than if I hunt a trophy animal myself.

And keeping the trophy is a big part of hunting and also something that lays in a hunters genes from many thousands of years ago.

I just feel that one of the biggest problems the antis have is the fact that someone can get a kick out of killing an animals and would want to hang a trophy on their wall. This is very hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand it and this gene has potentially disappeared in these people. It is even hard to explain to someone who refuse to even try and understand.

I feel it is easier to win the argument by using the monetary value that trophy hunting has to conservation. Because they just can't come up with something that works better or brings in more to protect the animals. And after all Im a strong believer that money makes this world spin. I don't like the idea that that is the way it is. But I will play the game if I believe it is my only option.

quote:

Originally posted by Thor Kirchner:

quote:

Originally posted by crbutler:
It’s a well said piece to anti hunters.

Unfortunately, it does tend to allow them to demonize hunters and tends to portray you as a mercenary who would rather hunting be stopped if it was not for the money.

The comment on the client getting a kick out of it and you don’t care will reinforce their belief that the client is an evil person, even if they are providing needed funding.

I don’t know you personally, maybe that’s the way you really feel, although from reading your past comments I doubt that is true... there are easier ways to make a living than being a PH, so most that I know do it because they love to hunt.

Why I hunt is because I enjoy it, and I want it to continue to be available after I’m gone. A mass produced game viewing safari just isn’t the same. The killing, and eating, and being part of the cycle of life is something that is part of existence and some of us feel a need to personally participate. It doesn’t make one necessarily better than another, but it just is.

Lots of folks decry the trophy taking part, but to me, it is basically like getting a memento of that animal. I can see, touch, and to some extent smell that animal whenever I wish. Some folks buy little cups or t shirts. Some keep posters of concerts or other mementos of their lives.

I keep a part of that animal. How you want to commemorate your life is an individual choice.

To the antis, I would suggest that they consider would they like someone else (perhaps someone like me) telling them what they can or cannot keep for memory’s sake?

You are very right sir.
I wrote this to be read by the anti's so that so I twisted my personal views a little to suite the antis better and insure I have the upper hand. And I did. Non of them really had anything firm agains what I wrote. And if you saw comments you would see that I did win over a couple of fence sitters. Not entirely but they admitted I was right.

I do enjoy hunting. It sits in my blood and even if I tried I couldn't get it out of me. I get a massive kick out of seeing the happiness in a client that succeeds in taking a hard earned trophy. Even more than if I hunt a trophy animal myself.

And keeping the trophy is a big part of hunting and also something that lays in a hunters genes from many thousands of years ago.

I just feel that one of the biggest problems the antis have is the fact that someone can get a kick out of killing an animals and would want to hang a trophy on their wall. This is very hard to explain to someone who doesn't understand it and this gene has potentially disappeared in these people. It is even hard to explain to someone who refuse to even try and understand.

I feel it is easier to win the argument by using the monetary value that trophy hunting has to conservation. Because they just can't come up with something that works better or brings in more to protect the animals. And after all Im a strong believer that money makes this world spin. I don't like the idea that that is the way it is. But I will play the game if I believe it is my only option.

Hi Thor.

I'm particularly interested in the highlighted statement. I have had many spirited debates here about this subject. I have often wondered what the professional hunting community thinks of the practice of hunting, killing stuff to take its picture.

I see it as essentially devaluing the life of the animal to a few megapixels on some camera card.

If you would rather not answer, I understand. Its just your statement seems to reveal you agree with me to some extent.

If we as international sport hunters really care enough to try to pursued the "fence sitters" that sport hunting isn't "bad" I would think this would be part and parcel to it.

Mend well my friend.

Steve

Well said!

quote:

I see it as essentially devaluing the life of the animal to a few megapixels on some camera card.

I couldn't agree more Steve but with the ever increasing hunting and taxidermy costs, that's how the cookie crumbles for them with limited budgets.

There is no photo can compare with a lifelike form; impossible to view it from different angles nor to touch and feel it.

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

I see it as essentially devaluing the life of the animal to a few megapixels on some camera card.

I couldn't agree more Steve but with the ever increasing hunting and taxidermy costs, that's how the cookie crumbles for them with limited budgets.

There is no photo can compare with a lifelike form; impossible to view it from different angles nor to touch and feel it.

This is an interesting point.... since most hunters didn't major in liberal arts like antis, I think we often find it hard to express our passion for wildlife.
The "trophy" is a way to honor the animal and represent our memories and experience...not to stroke our egos..
I'm not sure I had consciously thought of a photo only in this manner (but I sure am out of space for taxidermy) but I think you are correct...

I have mentioned this before in similar discussions on AR, but, after Dad or Grand Dad, whoever spent the time/effort/energy to collect the trophies/take the picture/videos has passed on, what will all the mementos/trophies etc. mean to those that really never was around the hunter enough to know what role hunting played in their life.

I hunt because I was born a hunter! Plain and simple, and fortunately for the past 25 years of my life I have a great friend that has shared many hours with me on various hunts and Lora has collected her own share of trophies/memories and hopefully God will grant us many more years together to enjoy more hunts.

But as I get older, my own mortality and general health cause me to look at how my attitudes about hunting have changed. Except for ducks I really no longer care that much about shooting a deer, I get more pleasure from taking someone out, paying client or friend and helping tyhem get a deerr or hog or getting Lora set up to shoot something.

Why I hunt is a question I feel all of us constantly ask ourselves, especially as we age and the realization that at Point B we will no longer be able, for whatever reason, to hunt.

quote:

Originally posted by Poyntman:

quote:

Originally posted by fulvio:

quote:

I see it as essentially devaluing the life of the animal to a few megapixels on some camera card.

I couldn't agree more Steve but with the ever increasing hunting and taxidermy costs, that's how the cookie crumbles for them with limited budgets.

There is no photo can compare with a lifelike form; impossible to view it from different angles nor to touch and feel it.

This is an interesting point.... since most hunters didn't major in liberal arts like antis, I think we often find it hard to express our passion for wildlife.
The "trophy" is a way to honor the animal and represent our memories and experience...not to stroke our egos..
I'm not sure I had consciously thought of a photo only in this manner (but I sure am out of space for taxidermy) but I think you are correct...

I recently had a long discussion about this, sitting chest deep in a tributary of the Amazon river, with a couple other AR members.

I think some folks read my sentiments incorrectly. The subject of subsistance hunting came up as it usually will. I have no issues myself and don't even see anything wrong with the guy that shoots a Deer or an Elk, Caribou or Moose and takes no memento's.

My issue is with practice of going overseas to hunt with the soul purpose being "Sport Hunting" with only pictures being the goal.

I too am out or nearly out of space. Now, my hunts are more specific and typically to destinations I have yet to travel to, hunting species I haven't hunted.

Well said and well done Thor.

Great write up Thor
We all hunt because we feel alive
There some minor differences overall , but basic feeling is the same
My favorite is one on one in majority cases and by myself out there camping and analyzing day’s events in my head and get away from people as well