HUNTING RHINO WITH A BOW !!! ???

[Wismit]

As far as I know, rhino hunting is legal. You just need to get the proper paper work.

I know a few years back there was great controversy. Every year the Kruger Park sells hundreds (yes hundreds) of Rhino`s to game farms, Zoo`s and Lodges. The problem started that when the Park on several occasions delivered these rhino`s the following happened.

The Rhino will be offloaded and within the first 50 - 100 paces the animal took, an overseas shooter will kill it. They will take their photograph and off they go, hunt completed.

The legislation was then changed. If I have it correct, the rhino has to be at least 12 months roaming free on the farm before you can hunt it.

Why I don`t know because you cannot eat it!!

[fhm3006]

Thanks Gus - did not know about all that species you describe - interesting.

I agree Wismit,
also - as far as i know not even the horn can be taken as trophy. I suppose you can eat it if you really must, but i have also never heard of anyone that did. Same as with Lion / Leopard trophies.
I am not a trophy hunter and i will never be, (personal thing) but then we should respect that some people DO have the money and DO love to spent thousands on a trophy, even if it is just a video or photograph (rhino)

Why I don`t know because you cannot eat it!!

[FrankH]

As long as a animal is hunted legally and ethically, we shouldn't have a problem.

The arguments could be endless otherwise.

[white_ræbbit]

"No your honour, I didn't rape her, I just gave her the roofies so that I can pose next to her naked body for a picture..." :-|

[jacov]

I hope the guy on p65 of April African Outfitter had a green hunt on the Rino and not a dart and the a shot from his gun

[375 Ruger Man]

I have been involved in 2 green hunts with bows 1 Rhino and 1 Giraffe the same hunter also did Elephant.
Exciting as you can ask for photos, remember that the animal takes around 3 minutes to go down and you need to be at its side when it does go down.

Staying safe while running after a dangerous and drugged animal is adrenalin squared.

The hunter was one Stephen Scott for his show on ESPN. His bow was a Matthews outback if memory serves along with adaptor made to carry the dart ,the bow was tuned down heavily to less than 30 pounds and light arrow.

The aim was to get the needle in and enough energy to inject the dose of M99.

[G-force]

Is shot placement of concern on such a hunt?

Sent from my iPhone using Forum Runner

[Willie Barnard]

"Green hunts" originated on a game farm where a white rhino had to be darted for some or other therapeutic procedure. The farm manager/ owner/PH got the bright idea: "Why not have a hunting client pull the trigger of the tranquillizing gun, and have him pay for the priviledge. That way in stead of the capture operation costing us money, it can earn us money. Somebody has to pull the trigger anyway."
The idea was so enthusiastically received, that soon game ranches ran out of rhinos with procedures pending. There was also a time frame attached to procedures to be done, such as draining an abscess, and was not always easy to let that coincide with the client's schedule.
Soon this grew into a situation where rhinos with no procedures due were being darted solely for the client's pleasure.
Photographs are taken while the animal is sleeping, and measurements of the horns enable the taxidermist to make an exact fibreglass 'trophy' to ship home for the client. There is of course the risk that the animal can die during the immobilisation process, this problem is solved by short term insurance on the animal, the premium being passed on to the client obviously.
There is some concern about possible harm to animals from being darted too often in too short a time. As far as I know the professional hunters' bodies compiled guidelines on what would be acceptable limits in this regard. Presently this set of rules (ethics if you like) are voluntarily applied AFAIK.

It seems some hunters have now expanded further in this field by downtuning a hunting bow to be used as a drug delivery device in stead of the normal capturing equipment.
The immediate question in my mind, is : "If this is optimal capturing equipment, why is it not being used extensively for this purpose?" I would also be worried about the very curved trajecory of an arrow from a bow with only 30 lbs draw weight. This could very negatively affect shot placement. Over- and underpenetration could also be an issue, as hunting rarely happens under optimal conditions. (variables like : distance, wind, vegetation, angle of penetration etc.) This is of course assuming that the whole operation has the characteristics of a hunt.

My most serious concern about so-called green hunts is that it is a divide-and-rule issue again. A sector of the hunting community claims to be holier than the rest, they dont have "blood on their hands" and tries to negotiate a special dispensation for themselves. The anti-hunting groups exploit this to the fullest. There are many parallels to be found in all spheres of the firearm world. Oh yes, and then there is the further concern that it is not even as safe for the animal as it is claimed. Especially when there are modifications to gear and methods to make the "hunt" more challenging.

Regarding the continued hunting of White Rhino. Nothing can be more dangerous for the continued existence of the rhino populations in SA than a hunting ban. "If the game pays, the game stays." is the dictum, and rhino is not exempt.
Recent statistics from East Africa shows a 90% decline in Kenyan lion numbers during a total hunting ban. In neighbouring Tanzania, where sustainable utilization is the policy, lion numbers increased during the same period. To try to address the present rhino poaching epidemic in SA with a hunting ban , is equivalent to adressing the problem of rape (SA is also known as the rape capital of the world) with a ban on sex! Easy!

The non-trophy hunters' concern about "inedible" animals being hunted: I can assure you that nothing goes to waste. On my big game hunts in African countries to the north (buffalo, Hippo), everything was eaten or smoked for later consumption or for sale.
The problem was rather that big as these animals are, there was never enough meat available for the demand. I have seen Elephant being poached and smoked in the same way. The tusks were buried, because of the difficulties in the international market. The ivory ban did not save these elephants though, their meat was enough reason to kill them. I can hardly imagine rhino meat being discarded.

At present white rhino may be hunted on certain preconditions: The hunting client may take home his trophy, including the horns, but it must be used as a trophy, and may not be resold for medicinal purposes. In recent years there were some hunting clients from China and Vietnam who added 2 + 2 and got (surprise) ..... 4. Some of them did not even attend the hunt, and simply asked the PH to do the shooting on their behalf. Back in Asia, the hunting trophy was then converted to medicine at a huge profit. This was stopped by Nature conservation authorities as "CITES loophole poaching" or some other apt description.

Though the present poaching losses are still substantially less than the annual increase in white rhino numbers, the concern is that it is out of controll, and it could eventually destroy what is/was a real conservation success story.
One fact is certain : international trade bans are not working, and the solution may well be LESS trade restrictions, rather than MORE.

Willie Barnard

[johannvdg]

We all have our own opinions, but for the life of me I cannot understand why you would want to stop the legal hunting of rhino if the products of that animal will be utilised, and where the market would lead to the increase in population as well as the value of the animals.
To put it in other words, would be that I am not allowed to go and hunt my impala anymore because I want to eat the meat, or give or sell to someone else, and turn the leather into shoes, a belt or handbag and the horns into whatsoever I choose, because I am not turning it into a trophy, no matter the fact that it is available for hunting and I would have gone and done it legally. Or stopping the export of game meat to Europe.

Obviously it needs to be legally hunted and exported in accordance with the laws. I just ask myself, if you can have your market expanded by 30%, your product obviously become more valuable. And as we can see from the increased poaching there is definitely a need for trade in the east, would it not be better to have a legal avenue to access that market, like the harvesting of rhino horn from live animals, if I remember correctly, each rhino can yield about 2-3kgs of horn per year. And yes I have asked myself would I like to see rhino's walking around without that majestic sweeping horn - I have not been able to answer the question, except to come up with another question: Would I rather see a rhino without its horn, than not see a rhino at all? Definitely yes.

Back on subject, as far as I have it "green hunts" are also "illegal" now, because only vets are allowed handle and administer the schedule 6/7? drugs.

Like the rhino scenario, whether you agree with it or not, that is the way the cookie crumbles, lets just hope wildlife is not the losers in the end.

[Tweety]

Esteemed fellow hunters,
first, i have no problem with bow hunting, hunting is hunting, and i sincerely appreciate the extra- effort you bow hunters must make to get colse to your quarry. lv29

I have just read a post on another hunting website, about a foreigner comming to Africa to hunt his first Rhino with a bow - he calls it a 'green hunt' which i interpret as his fist Rhino (right?)
I was a little shocked to find out that Rhinos are still hunted in Africa at all, more-so with a bow !!! - just the other day i saw a programme on Discovery where the facts were made clear that Rhino's are endangered as a specie in most Africa countries. cfd89

This does not sit well with me - is there really outfitters out there that are actually allowed to let hunters hunt a Rhino with a bow??? ???

I will appreciate your comments / views on this... tup

FHM, you need to understand that there are animal populations which are localised.

For example, Cities and IFAW want the world to condemn elephant culling because it is an endangered species, but SA and Botswana have massive overpopulations of Elephant and they are destroying the localised habitat. So within these two countries, they are the furthest thing from endangered.

Now, your next question is, Why not ship them off to a place that needs them? Well, in SA, most places that can accomodate elephant have elephant. There is very little new pasture for Elephant. Also Privately owned Wildlife is a commodity, and since moving elephant costs huge amounts of Money, a farmer, who farms Elephant can Earn half a Million USD for a decent tusker. WHy would he give it away?

Similarly, Some game farms have excellent Rhino Populations. And Rhino's that are old and past thier mating prime have no real genetic value,are good for hunting because they earn the farmer revenue.

Remember, Hunting ensures Biodiversity, trust me, a farmer who knows the value of an old Bull and can make money out of it will be the best protector of his cows and calves.Because those animals will give him more bulls in the future.

You must read a "Game Wardens Report" by Ron Tompson to fully understand the Value that wildlife has to have in order for it to increase in number.

Let me say this, if there where safari companies operating in Kruger national Park, specialising in the BIg Five, the resources would be such that there would be no poaching.

Oh, but for the bleeding hearts making this world a kak place. tsk tsk.