Canned Lion Hunts

[Snapshot]

I get tired of seeing some of these "Canned Lion Hunts" on the Outdoor channels. Lions that are bred and raised for sport hunting inside large fenced enclosures. The same goes for dart hunting Rhinos.

[billrquimby]

Agree! I feel the same about almost every video made in South Africa.

 

Incidentally, my lion came from Zambia.

 

Bill Quimby

[Hunterjohnny]

Very similar to many deer hunts in the US! Makes you love Arizona even more.

[sbhunter]

I get tired of seeing some of these "Canned Lion Hunts" on the Outdoor channels. Lions that are bred and raised for sport hunting inside large fenced enclosures. The same goes for dart hunting Rhinos.

 

 

 

I agree 100% but not all Lions shot in RSA are "Canned" Their are a lot of Lions shot in the NW close to the Botswana boarder & in areas like Timbavati that boarder Kruger National Park!

[billrquimby]

Yes, but believe me when I say my experience as editor of the SCI record book for 17 years gave me some knowledge of what goes on down there.

 

A very few free-ranging lions are killed in South Africa, and most of these are shot or poisoned by locals. Too many so-called Botswana escapees shot by foreigners along the Limpopo were raised in pens in Mapumalanga and trailered to where they were released and killed. The same with those along the Kruger, except for the few that are drawn out of the park by baiting along the border.

 

Amazingly (to me, at least), few hunters who kill canned lions are aware they are victims of fraud. That became apparent when we removed all South African and Namibian lions from the record book, and members protested loudly that their lions were not "canned," even though they shot them in provinces where wild lions hadn't been seen in 100 years.

 

SCI eventually established a special category for South African and Namibian lions, for all the above reasons.

 

Bill Quimby

[Snapshot]

I read somewhere, that it is estimated that 80% of hunting in South Africa is behind fences. There is also rumor that some of the more devious Outfitters will hang bait, and use distress calls over loud speakers outside of Kruger park, to lure lions across the boundary.

 

Chrisenten Outdoors aired an episode yesterday of a young man taking a lion in SA. They walked up to within 50 yards of the lion and shot it.

[SunDevil]

I read somewhere, that it is estimated that 80% of hunting in South Africa is behind fences. There is also rumor that some of the more devious Outfitters will hang bait, and use distress calls over loud speakers outside of Kruger park, to lure lions across the boundary.

 

Chrisenten Outdoors aired an episode yesterday of a young man taking a lion in SA. They walked up to within 50 yards of the lion and shot it.

 

well then, I recoreded that episode on my DVR. Guess I can delete it and save 10 minutes of my time.

[SunDevil]

I get tired of seeing some of these "Canned Lion Hunts" on the Outdoor channels. Lions that are bred and raised for sport hunting inside large fenced enclosures. The same goes for dart hunting Rhinos.

 

seems the dart hunting thing provides some the opportunity to "take" an endangered animal while allowing biologists the opportunity to gather data on them. I would hope the money from the hunt would get put back into the conservation program.

[sbhunter]

Bill,

The outfitter a "hunter' chooses to book with plays a major role in how their hunt will go. I know you have hunted Africa, so you understand where I come from. I also have hunted Africa - 265 hunting days total so far. I am not disagreeing with you at all. To many people look at RSA and think "canned" "high fence" their are a lot of great places to hunt free range critters! As far as SCI record books go I always get a good laugh at the ESTATE portion of the book

[Snapshot]

I get tired of seeing some of these "Canned Lion Hunts" on the Outdoor channels. Lions that are bred and raised for sport hunting inside large fenced enclosures. The same goes for dart hunting Rhinos.

 

seems the dart hunting thing provides some the opportunity to "take" an endangered animal while allowing biologists the opportunity to gather data on them. I would hope the money from the hunt would get put back into the conservation program.

 

That could be true. But most of the SA Rhino hunting are for animals that have been bred in captivity as well. You can harvest them,when available, with prices starting at around $90,000

[Snapshot]

With the advent of the "Save the Lion" program, aired on National Geographic channel, wild lion hunting could be shutdown in the next 5-10 years. Or possibly they might end up as non-importable into the USA? Who knows?

 

I am not trying to start a debate over hunting in RSA. Hunting behind fences is a personal choice. It just bugs me that they raise these animals in captivity, and basically sell them to sportsman for big $$$$$$.

 

There are stil many free range areas left in SA.

[Snapshot]

Agree! I feel the same about almost every video made in South Africa.

 

Incidentally, my lion came from Zambia.

 

Bill Quimby

 

That is a nice Lion you got. Luangwa? Kafue?

[Snapshot]

Click on link.

 

Canned Lion HuntingCanned hunting fuels the fire for orginizations like this one. It can ruin sport hunting in the long run.

[billrquimby]

Bill, The outfitter a "hunter' chooses to book with plays a major role in how their hunt will go. I know you have hunted Africa, so you understand where I come from. I also have hunted Africa - 265 hunting days total so far. I am not disagreeing with you at all. To many people look at RSA and think "canned" "high fence" their are a lot of great places to hunt free range critters! As far as SCI record books go I always get a good laugh at the ESTATE portion of the book

 

SBhunter:

 

Never counted the days I spent hunting in five African countries, but I did make 22 trips there between 1983 and 2006. SCI had an office near Pretoria and not all of my time on those trips were for hunting. While there, I also toured every national RSA park as the guest of the government, attended game auctions, helped a well-known game capturer write his memoirs, and got many inside looks at the game farm business in South Africa. I can tell you that lions aren't the only animals for which canned hunts are staged. Purposely starved leopards have been released on smelly bait a half hour before hunters and their PHs sneaked into their blinds.

 

Although not as blatant as canned cat hunts, kudus, gemsbok and common nyala sometimes are released according to the hunts sold for that season. Most game farms in South Africa are only about 5,000 acres, and virtually everyone who hunts these larger animal shoots at least one of them on his first RSA safari. There is no way a high-fenced farm less than 2 1/2 miles by 3 1/2 miles can produce all the mature trophy bulls some outfitter/game farmers sell season after season without buying them at auction.

 

As for free-range hunting vs. "estate" hunting, my best guess is that 98.99% of Americans hunt behind high wire when they hunt in South Africa. There are some free-range areas, to be sure, but there are only a few outfitters taking clients there. And when they do, it is for one or two special types of animal and not a general hunting safari.

 

There was a suggestion that briefly arose in SCI's record book committee when I was there to list most South African entries as "estate taken," but it was decided that outfitters and members would raise holy heck.

 

Snapshot:

 

It would be great if the only time a rhino was darted by a "green" hunter was to collect biological data. Unfortunately, some rhinos with trophy horns were being darted every few weeks only so someone could complete his "Big Five." Whether that is a concern is moot now. RSA banned darted hunts earlier this year.

 

Incidentally, $90,000 (and more) is the price for killing a black rhino. White rhino, the last I heard, cost about a third of that. Darted hunts cost from $6,000 to $15,000. These prices are the reason the white rhino has made a comeback from near extinction. Just follow the money. Every rhino in South Africa outside Kruger and a couple of the larger parks is captive bred.

 

I shot my lion in one of Zambia's Mumbwa concessions, not far from the Kafue River. I expect that the days when Africa's lions can be hunted legally are limited to fewer than five years. There is an well-funded, organized and worldwide movement to accomplish this. Ironically, the guys who are "farming" lions and selling canned lion hunts argue that what they do takes the pressure off wild lions and is actually a form of conservation.

 

Bill Quimby

[Snapshot]

Thanks for the great information Bill.

 

Even though I have never set foot on Afican soil, It has been my lifelong dream to go on a "Big 4" and plains game safari. Specifically in Tanzania.

 

I have read alot of the books of past/present African hunting greats, as well as watched many african hunting shows, videos, and countless hours researching African hunting via the internet.

 

However, unless I win the lottery.........lol