I would like to start a discussion about trophy hunting, especially hunting Cape Buffalo, but also trophy hunting for other species as well. A couple of days ago I received the latest issue of "Atfrican Indaba newsletter" with a very interesting article of "Doctari" Dr.Kevin Robertson in which he criticises the current SCI scoring system. The problem is that rather young bulls, which are important for breeding, will score higher than old mature bulls that have been driven out of the herd. All SCI top buffalo trophys are non-mature herd-bulls, as Dr. Robertson proves with pictures. I think it is not difficult to understand that on the long term the best genes are sorted out and trophy quality will go down.
Another aspect of trophy hunting has to do with the cultural background of the hunter. Several PHs in several countries told me about the typical hunter :
- The typical American hunts for quality of the trophy, he hunts with a measuring tape in his pocket and for him it is not important if he hunts hard or shoots from a car. As long as his trophy qualifies for "the book", he is happy.
- The typical English hunter doesn`t care for the trophy at all, it is the sporting aspect of the hunt that counts for him. If it is hard hunting, he is happy.
- The typical German hunter is looking for an old specimen. As long as it`s old he is happy.
- The typical Spanish hunter is hunting for quantity. He wants to kill as many animals as possible, no matter what kind of trophy he gets.
I know very well that this statement is provoking but that`s the reason I would like to hear what NE members are saying. Of course we are all individuals and hopefully don`t fit in one of the above categories. For example I am German but for me a good hunt is a tough and hard hunt, I look for old specimen but refuse to shoot from a car, I want to work hard for my success.
Now gentlemen, what kind of trophy hunter are You ?