That's the way we do it in South Carolina. It's true that we have laws on the books that prevent us from plowing cotton fields with elephants, but we can use them for tiger hunting.
At Independence the Government of India signed an agreement with the Maharajas called the Privy Purses and Previleges which entitled them to an allowance for giving up their kingdoms and choosing to join India. During the socialist years under Indira Gandhi these previleges were abolished and the 44th Amendment of the Indian constitution took away the right to own any property in India in 1978. They also brought in restrictions on gun ownership and crippled the shooting sports to an extent that India has not been able to recover from.
It was the socialists who banned hunting and allowed the best game in India to be poached to extinction until they were assassinated one by one to an extent where Indira Gandhi's daughter in law refuses to become Prime Minister of India even though the party that she leads is now in power. Sad and I wish there were a way to turn the clock back...
These were the bad old days. Nearly 40 tigers killed in one shikar. What kind of conservatorship is that? We can forgive them for their ignorance and arrogance. But it is hard, given the lessons of the succeeding decades, to forgive their utter greed and sense of divine right. I would trade one season of tiger hunting for all the George IVs who ever lived.
Thanks, Nick for the fascinating post.
Posts: 13476 | Location: New England | Registered: 06 June 2003
I hate to say it, but I agree with mrlexma, this is not a way to preserve game. Sure tigers may have been plentiful, but nothing gives the game more dignity than hunting it 1 on 1 like Corbett. These excesses continued until tiger hunting was banned, Jack O'Conner mentioned that many hunters would kill 5,6 or 7 tigers during their short stay.
On the other hand, I am glad people were able to enjoy it before the human population explosion provided a 'final solution'. The most effective tiger killer is the subsistence farmer and growing villages...
Posts: 2359 | Location: London | Registered: 31 May 2003
I wasn't there till now but india is the most fascinate country in the world, hunting there will be a true adventure and if it only be some wild pigs working thhere as a croup raider unit. have read it somewhere that they shot 3000 tiger in 1895 and that was the same every year. the county must have so many tigers, unbelievable, like "driven pheasant's".
I have heard from some of the members on this forum that the state of Chhatisgarh recently issued hunting licenses for Wild Boar at $ 50 a boar. If you are interested in checking this out, please do as some of the boar in India can get really big - up to 450 plus pounds.
The state of Rajasthan has also been toying with issuing Nilgai licenses, something that the state of Haryana tried some years ago but was not allowed to and if you keep your fingers crossed, you just might be able to bring back a Nilgai trophy as well if they issue the licenses while you're there.
The fact is that in the days of the Raj the hunting reserves (they were actually called "preserves" and the word says what was really done there) were carefully nurtured and animals were carefully managed. Tiger hunting was as much a social activity as a driven pheasant shoot in England.
The mess came in after India declared itself a "sovereign, secular, and socialist" republic in January1950 after which the entire system of conservation etc went downhill to the extent where the tiger is on a one way road to extinction in the wild in India these days. I hope that it does not happen in my lifetime but then again, I would not be surprised if it did.
Quote: 14000 in the support camp with 2000 elephant handlers! Up to 600 elephants employed in the outer ring and game beaten for 40 days prior to the hunt! Incredible! I met a chap 20 years ago who had been on an elephant tiger hunt in India in the 1930's. He had an original .416 Rigby at the time. Apparently regardless of who shot what the Maharjah "shot everything" officially!
Doing the math on this hunt, I suspect even Bill Gates wince a bit at the price. Can you imagine? WOW.
Posts: 1407 | Location: Beverly Hills Ca 90210<---finally :) | Registered: 04 November 2001
have read it somewhere that they shot 3000 tiger in 1895 and that was the same every year. the county must have so many tigers, unbelievable, like "driven pheasant's".
