So long and thanks for all the death,

The animals in the photograph are white rhinos, but I suppose that doesn't really matter. It's probably a stock photograph.

Rhino and elephant poaching is a scourge, and demand for horn and ivory in the Far East is increasing. There is also some evidence that Islamist terror groups - particularly al-Shabaab - are involved and using the illegal trade to raise funding.

I'm pessimistic about control measures - polluted by corruption and greed in Africa - and I think they're going to fail unless China, the biggest market, comes on board and cracks down on this. That probably isn't going to happen.
 
There's another story in the news about an American presenter who stalked and shot a lion in SA. She tweeted "What a hunt!" to which Ricky Gervais replied "Spot the typo." I suppose it was inevitable that he'd eventually say something funny.
Sad about the rhino - maybe if they were as cute as pandas more would have been done to protect them, even if it was in captivity.
 
Nod said:
There's another story in the news about an American presenter who stalked and shot a lion in SA. She tweeted "What a hunt!" to which Ricky Gervais replied "Spot the typo." I suppose it was inevitable that he'd eventually say something funny.
Sad about the rhino - maybe if they were as cute as pandas more would have been done to protect them, even if it was in captivity.
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There's a lot of controversy about lion hunting in SA. We have no large, wilderness, areas where this sort of hunting is permitted and most hunting is on privately owned game farms in any case. I've no idea where Melissa Bachman shot "her trophy", but there have been quite a few scandals about canned lion hunting involving captive bred animals released into the "wild" a few hours before the hunt, to drugged lions offered as targets in fairly small, enclosed, areas.

I've hunted in the past, and I may do so again, but it's a reasonable assumption that this lion had no chance of evading the hunting party. I really can't understand how anyone can get this sort of joy out of killing a magnificent animal under these circumstances.
 
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MartynK said:
There's a lot of controversy about lion hunting in SA. We have no large, wilderness, areas where this sort of hunting is permitted and most hunting is on privately owned game farms in any case. I've no idea where Melissa Bachman shot "her trophy", but there have been quite a few scandals about canned lion hunting involving captive bred animals released into the "wild" a few hours before the hunt, to drugged lions offered as targets in fairly small, enclosed, areas.

I've hunted in the past, and I may do so again, but it's a reasonable assumption that this lion had no chance of evading the hunting party. I really can't understand how anyone can get this sort of joy out of killing a magnificent animal under these circumstances.
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What was the goal of this hunting you did, Martyn?
 
This news is a few years out of date, not sure why the media have now decided to pick up this story.
 
MartynK said:
There's a lot of controversy about lion hunting in SA. We have no large, wilderness, areas where this sort of hunting is permitted and most hunting is on privately owned game farms in any case. I've no idea where Melissa Bachman shot "her trophy", but there have been quite a few scandals about canned lion hunting involving captive bred animals released into the "wild" a few hours before the hunt, to drugged lions offered as targets in fairly small, enclosed, areas.

I've hunted in the past, and I may do so again, but it's a reasonable assumption that this lion had no chance of evading the hunting party. I really can't understand how anyone can get this sort of joy out of killing a magnificent animal under these circumstances.
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Probably the most hypocritical post I have ever seen on TP
 
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Can someone explain to me the attraction of hunting?

Fair enough if you need to feed yourself, but if you want a challenge, take it on barehanded, not from a hundred feet away behind a rifle with a telescopic sight.
 
I spent a few weeks working as volunteer in Tembe national park in SA, the Northern part of the park is on the Mozambique border. Poachers (most of them are controlled/paid by Chinese mafia) jump the border, kill rhinos, cut the horns with chainsaw and go back to Mozambique. They carry Kalashnikov or similar weaponry and do not hesitate to shoot rangers carrying old guns or anyone who see them. The north was out of bound to us for safety reasons. According to the different monitors, rangers and other staff working there, the SA government is not too concerned about it, saying that when I left they were talks of sending the army.
I have been lucky to get very close to white and black rhinos and they are magnificent beasts, I even assisted to the captures of 2 black rhinos for relocation purposes.
Saying that our main role there was to monitor lions and this was a wonderful experience.
 
The only hunting I do with my .22 is rats, pigeons and rabbits, the latter 2 go in the freezer :)

I could never intentionally kill a large animal though, especially a beast :(
 
The23rdman said:
What was the goal of this hunting you did, Martyn?
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Primarily spending time in the bush, enjoying the challenge of outwitting an animal in its natural surroundings and, ultimately, shooting an animal cleanly if I'm carrying a rifle and not a camera. I eat meat - like most people - and I'm quite comfortable with killing the animal myself. I have never hunted for trophies, or shot at anything I don't intend to eat. The same goes for fishing.
 
MartynK said:
enjoying the challenge of outwitting an animal in its natural surroundings...
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I usually just replace their bullets with blanks
 
MartynK said:
I'm quite comfortable with killing the animal myself. I have never hunted for trophies, or shot at anything I don't intend to eat. The same goes for fishing.
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Same here

Although I've also shot deer - as in deer stalking.
 
MartynK said:
Primarily spending time in the bush, enjoying the challenge of outwitting an animal in its natural surroundings and, ultimately, shooting an animal cleanly if I'm carrying a rifle and not a camera. I eat meat - like most people - and I'm quite comfortable with killing the animal myself. I have never hunted for trophies, or shot at anything I don't intend to eat. The same goes for fishing.
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Hunting for food I have no issue with whatsoever.
 
To be honest, you can't beat a piece of venison with a port gravy :)

I've stalked deer in the past but it's just too expensive these days for a syndicate.
 
MartynK said:
enjoying the challenge of outwitting an animal in its natural surroundings
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To me outwitting the animal would require you creep up behind it and wrestle it to the ground, not be tens or hundreds of feet away.

If you were walking down the road and a sniper took you out would you be outwitted?

If people want to get their jollies from shooting live things why don't they get together and go hunting each other?
 
Flightphoto said:
To be honest, you can't beat a piece of venison with a port gravy :)
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Very true. But, if you freeze the gravy you can pummel the venison with the block. :)
 
Thought the mood could do with lightening a little so did my best to do so. :D
 
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