I have a little tale to tell.

Last month, November, a team of rifles including myself and friends took a trip to Serbia to shoot driven Wild Boar.

The estate was brilliant, the accomodation satisfactory and the food heavenly; lots of wild boar and plenty of shooting.

So you may ask what's the problem? Well in short Lasarotta sporting agency and Bogdan Srejic.

On the last evening after the shooting was done the estate manager calls us to a meeting and informs us that the bill has not been paid by Bogdan and that we will not have our passports returned to us until the amount is settled, not good we all think.

Given that Bogdan had already asked us to bring 1000 euros extra each as a deposit for for next year and was going to charge us 600 euros extra each as we were only a team of 10 instead of 12 I figured that there had been some lies told.

The estate manager tells us that the shooting Bogdan had booked with him was 500 euros per day per gun and there was a team bag limit of 20 animals with no extra charges for having a team of 10 instead of 12.

The trip as it was sold to us was 1000 euros per day and with no bag limit. So the web of lies starts to untangle!

Anyway Bogdan was duly called and informed that he had to come and sort this out ASAP. An hour and a half later he rolls up smiling and the atmosphere inside is a bit tense to say the least. Another meeting is called and Bogdan procedes to tell us that he has cash flow problems and that he needs us to bail him out ( keep in mind that all of us had already paid in full some time in advance). We informed Bogdan that we knew he had a signed contract with the estate and that he should settle the bill immediately as we did not want to hear his sob stories any more (probably fabrications anyhow). Bogdan apparently cannnot pay the bill!!

So how was this resolved? It was apparent to the estate manager that we would not subsidise Bogdan so it was agreed that as he is a Serb if he surrendered his passport to the estate manager he could be dealt with under Serbian law and we would have our passports and return home.

There was no air of threat or malice toward us by our host but he needed some way to secure his payment and to make sure he saw Bogdan again.



So what did I learn:

1 Driven wild boar is expensive because the agents make it so; having seen what the estates charge per day the agent is definitely making a very good profit while pleading poverty.

2 Deal direct with the provider every time if possible or someone will try to fleece you.

3 Never deal with Lasarotta again in any way shape or form.

4 I've probably had my fill of driven boar shooting for now (bitter taste and all that).

5 The agent will tell the customer one thing and order another from the estate for a much lesser price.

6 Get a written contract and reciept, although we were relying on a team captain to organise these, I will make damn sure I get them myself in future

It was still one of life's great experiences though,


Gerry

Gerry, sorry to hear that.

I don't want to commit libel, but I seem to remember a report on one of the boards in the past month the Srejic was in financial diff's.

I know he was pushing hard to sell places on some of these trips. He offered me discounted prices if I could bring 2-4 guns to an existing trip, probably yours. I assume he was depending on you guys giving him next years deposit to clear up this year's bill to the estate.

We were out in Croatia around the same time, our passports were also held, I gave mine over against my better judgement.

To be fair to Tommo who arranged our trip, He asked for a 1/3 deposit about six months ago. The balance was only paid on the Sunday night when the shooting was finished.

There is no doubt that some organisers take a fair markup. It would be interesting to try and book some shooting direct with an estate and organise you own trip.

Really sorry to hear about your shitty experience Gerry, rumours of Bogdan's insolvency have been circulating for several months now.

Gerry,

A freind of mine has been hunting with Bogdan for three or four years now and as you alluded to he has always had a good hunt but as Boggy states the rumours have been circulationg for a while.

I have had some dealings with Serbians in the last few years and they seem to be honest and keen to be hospitable in the whole, as demonstrated by the lodge owner you dealt with. The guys I work with out there heard I was a hunter and went out of their way to try and getme some shooting. My inability to get out there at the right time of year has restricted me taking up the invites, but the countryside is very beautiful and I kept dreaming about setting up a shoot on what looke like a perfect landscape.... (I do that in most places though!!)

Where about did you hunt?

you've reminded me I need to go back!!

Rgds,
FB

From Gerry to Gerry.....I'm awfuly disappointed to read experiences such as you've just related. Terribly sorry about your trip and subsequent issues, Driven Boar are a great hunting opportunity IMO but I can easily understand the current remaining bitter taste.

What I'm confused about is.....

quote:

that we will not have our passports returned to us until the amount is settled

as to why a traveler would surrender their passport to someone other than a Government Official? Please don't mistake my agenda here; I'm not taking a pot shot at you but rather atempting to comprehend why a Hotel or Accomodation, Hunting Tour Operator or Outfitter would have possession of your (and other's) Passports?

I'm pleased to use and submit my passport as proof of Identification but after my I.D. has been confirmed it goes directly back in my pocket.

Hi Guys,
Merry Christmas to all of you.

It is very sad that these things happened but there is plenty of cowboys on the market. Some of them became that latter but that's unfortunately unavoidable.

Lasarotta was good 2 years ago but Bogdan doesn't understand this type of business very well promissing a lot to both sides, to leaseholders and to clients. Now, he owes money to both sides in Serbia and Croatia. He claimed that he is representative of Croatian Hunting Federation but the truth is he is not Croatian, he wasn't the member of CHF and he spred lies around.
For last 3 years I am the representative for CHF in a few countries and that's why I had to deal with Bogdan's rubbish.

I'd like to explain how it goes in non EU countries.
Before you come to Croatia or Serbia we have to arrange hunting permits and once when you get to country we have to take your passports to leave it in local police department for a few hours or overnight. You do the similar things in hotel.
On the next day we give you your passports back and that's the way it goes.
Many of hunters rather leave their documents in our safes during the hunt to avoid any unpleasant srprises( losing a passport for instance).
No one has the right to take your documents from you even if you don't want to pay. To deal with this your agency with the police officer can confiscate your belongings, rifles, cars, credit cards ect. until the problem is resolved.

Next, it is true that some outfitters make more profit some less but it is always better to go with the agent registered in your country than directly especially if it's in non EU country.
By the law I have to obey EU/UK laws and than Croatian law but in the reallity the agent or a leaseholder from non EU country can screw you up if he wants you without consequences, unfortunately.

I worked for some reputable agencies in the past before I started my own hunting business and I've seen a lot.

Be careful before you go and ask for some reference before booking.

Bogdan is not the only one who did this and he won't be the last one either.
If the outfitter tells you the price he should stick with it even if he has to pay from his pocket and that's why we need deposits. That happens when you have less guns in the group. It happened to me twice this year but my clients didn't feel this and I dealt with this.
Also your outfitter has to know everything about grounds and he should be involved in the managing ground as much as he can. Most of them operating from the UK don't have a clue what is the situation on the ground. That is the reason why I spend every month 10-15 days in Croatia working with my gamekeepers and observing the grounds. I know that I spend thousands of pounds from the profit but who cares if you know that your clients might be happy bringing you more clients next year. It should be like this.
Also there is more and more enclosed grounds (Hungary, Serbia, Bulgaria ect. and Croatia is on this way). You don't realise and it looks open but it is not. Lots of boar and we can even give you guarantee for 20-50 per day.
Lasarotta operates in enclosed grounds and that costs. If you hear that your agent made a deal for limited bag 10,20 or more boar per day than you know that there are fences around you or in the wood. There is many systems how to arrange numbers.
If it's organised in open ground the price should be fixed or arranged like a different price for different success and you should know that in advance.

I hope that you understood me because English is my second language.

All the best to you and I wish you good luck wherever you go hunting

Tomo,
since you stepped in - are you able to list some reputable estates or outfitters in Serbia?
tks

quote:

Originally posted by Easyman05:
Tomo,
since you stepped in - are you able to list some reputable estates or outfitters in Serbia?
tks

There is an outfitter that I trust because he'll do what I ask and friend of mine takes care of hunters if I can't go to Serbia(usually I can't). I'll speak to the outfitter and please send me all the things you are interested in to be sure that he can deliver what you ask for.
You can send me all your questions on artemissvetic9@googlemail.com and after New Year I should get the answers and from there you can go directly.

Most of the grounds were overshot during poor management after 1990. and it happend in all grounds. Most of good grounds are closed now or they were in the past. Some grounds are trying hard to recover but it is a slow procces. That's why I don't like to reccommend anyone before my "scouts" give me a green light that the grounds are good.