quote:

Originally posted by Cazador humilde:
I didn't think the article was terrible. Except for the part about wanting to go home with the trackers and eat some of the kill with their families. That just comes off as patronizing. Surely everyone wants an American to come home with them. That part comes off as extremely culturally ignorant.

quote:

Originally posted by Frostbit:

Even if Mr. Rinella can not see himself hunting in Africa or ever hunting an African Lion perhaps he should at least voice the fact that it's hunting dollars that protect that Lion outside of and inside of Parks.

I'm sure he knows that hunting dollars supports game here in the States.

As far as anything wasted in Africa perhaps he should consider that the drags we made for Lion and Leopard in Zambia were asked for and given to some of the guys in camp because they wanted to eat the guts we just dragged over the ground for a mile.

quote:

B. Sure, it’s true that the hunters eat only a fraction of the meat that they kill, but that hardly means the meat goes to waste. I’ve heard from dozens of friends and acquaintances, all of them honest and many of them skeptical, who swore to the fact that African game animals get utilized far more thoroughly than most of the whitetail deer that get harvested in the United States. Right down to the testicles, I’ve been told. One friend of mine described a scene in which the eating started within minutes of the animal’s death and didn’t end until it was a pile of scraped bone.

C. Sure, it’s true that Americans pay a lot of money to kill those animals, but that money goes a long, long ways toward conserving those resources. It’s been proven time and again in the U.S. that a sort of commodification of wildlife isn’t entirely bad. By which I mean, those species which hunters consider desirable have armies of volunteers and banks full of money at their back............................................................................................................... I’m not naïve enough to think that a similar sort of altruism is at play when Americans travel to Africa—in fact, I doubt that many Americans who travel there are overly concerned about African wildlife habitat issues at all—but their spending in those countries is very important – nearly as much as the volunteering/donating that go on in the United States. The influx of hunter-spent dollars in Africa sends a powerful message to government bodies: These animals and their homes are important. They have value. They are economic drivers. Don’t mess with them.

quote:

Originally posted by Use Enough Gun:
As to going home with the trackers and eating some of the kill, ask Leopardtrack about that one! According to one of our mutual PHs, Frank decided one evening to go and eat with the trackers in order to enjoy the full African experience. You can all figure out how that one turned out.

quote:

Originally posted by Michael Robinson:

He obviously believes that his newfound semi-celebrity status authorizes him to criticize things beyond his experience, knowledge or understanding.

Unfortunately, this is a common condition among celebrities, semi- and otherwise.

He should have succumbed to his better judgment and declined to comment.

quote:

Originally posted by hunt99:
I thought he was relatively honest about his ignorance. After all everyone has an opinion and his wasn't atypical from what I experience regularly with North American big game hunters.

I am regularly shocked by the ignorance of friends and acquaintances that hunt deer, elk etc. but declare that they have no desire to hunt in Africa.

quote:

Originally posted by Cazador humilde:
I didn't think the article was terrible. Except for the part about wanting to go home with the trackers and eat some of the kill with their families. That just comes off as patronizing. Surely everyone wants an American to come home with them. That part comes off as extremely culturally ignorant.