Not wanting to start anything up again, but here is a story about a guy who shot a tame stag in Europe and it was tried to register it as a trophy. I think it is appropriate to remove it from the trophy registers.

From the European AR hunting forum.

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'Con game' fools the Baron who thought he shot trophy stag

By Tony Paterson in Berlin
Published: 03 October 2006
For Baron Eberhard von Gemmingen-Hornberg, it was a trophy hunter's dream come true: deep in the Bulgarian countryside last year a single shot from the German aristocrat's rifle brought a giant stag of unprecedented proportions toppling stone dead to the forest floor.

The magnificent beast weighed more than 300kg and bore a huge crown of tree-like antlers on its head made up of no less than 37 branches. The trophy was enough to enable the Baron to claim that he had achieved a new world hunting record.

The Baron's exploits were feted in the German and international hunting press, who vied with each other to document the extraordinary features of the slain stag. Never, it seemed, had any hunter managed to bag such a creature.

Yesterday, however, it emerged that Baron Gemmingen-Hornberg's trophy was no roaring wild stag of the Bulgarian beech forests but rather a tame, chocolate-loving red deer raised in an Austrian game reserve. The animal had been deliberately fed calcium tablets to enhance the growth of its antlers.

"The stag's name was Burlei, he was completely tame and children liked to feed him chocolate," the animal's former owner, Rudolf Pöttinger, told Spiegel television.

The series of events that led the Baron to be duped started in the summer of last year. Mr Pöttinger, the owner of a 53-acre game reserve in southern Austria, received an offer of €20,000 (£13,500) for Burlei and promptly sold the animal to two game dealers.

Within a month the stag was roaming hunting estate forests run by a Bulgarian organisation called Elen Hunting, which has its headquarters near the town of Etropole. Anxious to find a wealthy marksman with a yen for huge stags, the company began to spread news of Burlei's whereabouts.

The Baron heard of the stag from a Serbian wildlife documentary film-maker and, after paying a total of €65,000 for the privilege, he flew to Sofia in late August last year with his gun and a team of cameramen.

Accompanied by a game keeper and two film-makers, the Baron caught up with Burlei as the animal was grazing in a clearing. Undaunted by the fact that the supposedly wild stag failed to run away as the team approached, he raised his rifle and shot it dead.

In the months that followed, the Baron was pictured in hunting magazines worldwide with his trophy of antlers. "I had never seen anything so magnificent and, of course, I never remotely dreamed that I would have the chance of bagging such a stag," he was quoted as saying.

His triumph was shattered after photographs of Burlei grazing in his former home appeared on the internet. An Austrian police investigation established that the animal was indeed the tame red deer and that it had been fed calcium to enhance the growth of its antlers.

Baron Gemmingen-Hornberg's attempts to sue the culprits for fraud proved fruitless as police were unable to identify the Bulgarian middle men who supplied the hunting estate with the stag. The Baron, who insists that he wishes to forget the affair, was not available for comment yesterday. His world hunting record has been annulled.

Spiegel television said he had instructed his domestic staff to put Burlei's antlers in the cellar of his country house.

Tale lends creedence to the advice about not accepting sweets from a stranger .

I heard about this a week or so ago but hadnt seen the photo.

What a hero, must have been a real challenge for him.
Clearly NOT a wild animal.
Poor bloody thing.
Sick...

what a dick head he got what was coming to him


shooting farm deer then claming a world record

Maybe so - but you only have to look at Prince Charles to see what centuries of inbreeding has done to the IQ of European Royalty .

The guy may well have purchased the "hunt" and "trophy" in good faith. Marketing is everything and obviously the guys selling this did a good job.

My personal thoughts are that the "hunter" is the victim of his own ego , and a plot to feed that ego and relieve him of a stack of cash at the same time . Maybe when you have that much money you can afford to be duped and walk away from it ?

'tis an ugly beast though. Looks like someone glued a tree to its head.

And before anyone starts - I'm with NitroX in not wanting to start a fight over this .

quote:

Originally posted by NitroX:
... and, after paying a total of €65,000 for the privilege ...

Well it did cost him a few pennies too.

I really doubt one could find a stag with antlers that looked like that in the wild. And any experienced hunter would know that ie I refer to the Baron.

Barons hunt can never happen in New Zealand because the Stags there are all

"Free Sheep Range"


r.
Seloushunter

Another photo "borrowed" from the Euro forum.

Don't know about you guys but I think it makes a very ugly trophy! I take it they don't ear tag their stock in Europe?

When my son of 10 years saw it in a local hunting mag called vida salvaje he said this is a joke this deer isnt wild ,im sure the Baron who is an expert hunter know this .Juan

Here is a video (german) from the "proud hunter" with his trophy http://www.spiegel.de/video/video-13445.html

Seloushunter

Dragging this one up from the archives....

Loopy (tourist hunting in another country) hunters believe what the outfitters and guides tell them, it is a common excuse. Seems to me from here that cheque book hunting like the barons is like real life. If a deal on a trophy is too good to be true, it usually is. There is always a willing mark somewhere.
We had some arab sheik doing his nut here in NZ because someone whipped the balls off for the sperm from a stag he shot in a paddock at full price. Both of them are private land, the animal is owned by someone, Funny read both of them back to reloading the 7mm for tahr, busy few months ahead between now and march.
Recreational hunters are still busy sorting out helihunting with one or two commendable exceptions the hunting guides in NZ seem very quiet.