Canned hunts

[headspace]

Did anyone see the thing on canned hunting last night on the ABC? The presenter was a bloke called Louis Theroux, and he seemed to spend a lot of time trying to piss off one of the operators of a game farm. At one point the old Boer snapped a bolt on him. The biggest clients they have are apparently Americans, and you usually shoot your animal from a hide near a waterhole, with food laid out to bring the animals in. At one point a bloke took a shot at a Zebra from the hunting vehicle and clean missed. Don't know about you blokes but I wouldn't call it hunting. Apparently it's the cheapest way to get your trophy animal in South Africa. Personally I think it devalues a proper hunt where you have to walk and stalk the animal of your choice. But the Game park people are just catering for a demand I suppose.
JD

[paulG]

JD ..That was a repeat, if I am not mistaken ...nevertheless, canned hunting, in my opinion, is NOT hunting .....pathetic, really ....ask Cecil ...sigh ....The old Boer (I was born and bred in South Africa, and went to uni with the Boers) that got cranky, would simply not comprehend what he was being asked ....he was making money, so it was fine...

[headspace]

JD ..That was a repeat, if I am not mistaken ...nevertheless, canned hunting, in my opinion, is NOT hunting .....pathetic, really ....ask Cecil ...sigh ....The old Boer (I was born and bred in South Africa, and went to uni with the Boers) that got cranky, would simply not comprehend what he was being asked ....he was making money, so it was fine...

No worries Paul, I can see his point, and that Lois (oops) Louis fella was obviously annoying him. He's catering to a specific market, and I think there was a bit of desperation in him. A one point he said "This country is F---ed" He's just trying to survive, I just would be doing that sort of "hunting".

[Gwion]

Louis has a knack of pushing buttons to get people to show their true self.

I've seen that episode a few times.... It's like shooting sheep in the paddock; not hunting, just bagging for bragging.

[FuzzyM]

I usually enjoy Louise Theroux documentaries. Ironically my wife has seen this one and I haven't. He does rend to stir the pot a bit, but people do have a tendency to act differently on camera to make themselves seem less aggressive etc. If I remember correctly, he did post on social media after the Cecil thing that he is against poaching but not anti hunting.

[happyhunter]

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[Title_II]

Not all but a lot of those operations use the "hunters" fees to pay for the up keep of the reserves.

Doesn't sound like hunting to me (I didn't see it) but if it's a responsible part of the wildlife management I' not going to pass judgment. I've have had probably scores to hundreds of friends and family that hunted and I only ever knew one guy that did something similar to this.

He lived in New Jersey. Hunting is sort of mixed there, but it has the worst gun laws in America. Well, he was a Piney, but he never got a thing except a couple rabbits and a couple road kill deer (legally).

At one point he decided to do something where they let a turkey out of a cage (might have been a pheasant) at one end of a field. The turkey is supposed to run for the tree line and you can't pursuit it until it gets there. Well, he was not the only one hunting that day, a hawk came down and stole his turkey He tried to get his money back but the rule was no refunds once the cage opens

This is how bad some of the places are over there. He went to a state-run wildlife management area where they had stocked birds a couple weeks before the season opened. Just like they stock their rivers and lakes with Trout. So he goes out there, gets his gun and starts exploring. All the birds run up to him because they think he is going to give them food He tries to scare them off so he can feel OK about shooting them, but gives up, gets in his truck, and drives home.

NO, neither of these stories are typical American hunting

[happyhunter]

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[headspace]

Yes, I'm not about to criticise the idea, because it serves a purpose, but as I said you can't call it hunting. I'm having a big chuckle over Titles mate from New Jersey and his massive failure on the Turkey hunt. Sounds like something "everyone loves Raymond" would come up with. Not having a shot at US hunters either, I know plenty of blokes over there who prefer the fair chase thing. I just have a problem getting my head around why anyone would do it just to hang a head on a wall. But I'm mostly in it for meat anyway. Hey Title, those blokes were from Ohio, is that significant??
JD

[bigfellascott]

What is canned hunting?

[Title_II]

Yes, I'm not about to criticise the idea, because it serves a purpose, but as I said you can't call it hunting. I'm having a big chuckle over Titles mate from New Jersey and his massive failure on the Turkey hunt. Sounds like something "everyone loves Raymond" would come up with. Not having a shot at US hunters either, I know plenty of blokes over there who prefer the fair chase thing. I just have a problem getting my head around why anyone would do it just to hang a head on a wall. But I'm mostly in it for meat anyway. Hey Title, those blokes were from Ohio, is that significant??
JD

Not to my knowledge. There's one in every room I guess.

[happyhunter]

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[happyhunter]

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[wrenchman]

In many parts of the USA hunting is about family and friends when I started my grand father and my dad took me to my great uncles and his family was all there.
Its not about killing a deer it is about camp I pass up deer in the hope that my boys will get one my dad won't even wake up to go out but he is there.

[headspace]

Nice one Wrenchman, that is the ideal of most responsible hunters. It's never a numbers game.

[Pilch]

What is canned hunting?

Really? You've never heard the term?

[headspace]

Basically canned hunting is going after animals that are penned in to a given area, usually about a 3 thousand acres. They are bred on the property and released purely so someone can go and hunt them. The usual method of this "hunting" is to put out baits or attractants of some sort and sit in a blind and wait for the animal to come to the bait. Then shoot it. It's not for everyone obviously, but it's a quick and easy way of getting a trophy head on the wall. We all have our own ideas about it.
JD

[Farmjer]

As long as before the hunt the animals are bred and kept in decent conditions I don't really see a problem with it.

Say it's 3,000 acres like you said, that's not exactly fish in a barrel

[headspace]

I'm not saying it's wrong as such, it's just not the way I'd want to hunt Africa if I ever got to do it. Sitting in a hide while a Warthog comes and nibbles at the grain you've put out as bait then gets shot is just not my idea of hunting. The animals are well looked after, they are pretty expensive so they aren't going to get knocked around.

[wrenchman]

lots of the animals would not be there if it was not for the ranchs its were most the rhino are now

[Broom]

lots of the animals would not be there if it was not for the ranchs its were most the rhino are now

Most people I know haven't really got a problem with the paid hunt model where the funds go to conservation.

I think the real problem in places like Africa where it's done is the corruption and much of the funds end up in somebody's back pocket.

Not all of it I'm sure. Corruption is a different conversation I know, but something to factor into it.