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Very interesting discussion.

Since it appears there is almost total agreement here, I'm going to offer up a completely different view of this place.

First, my own opinion is that ranch hunting of any type is not very appealing to me at least as long as there are other options. So let me get that out up front. In that I agree with most of the posts here.

My second point is that it is fine to say "Texas isn't Africa" {which is admittedly true...

}, but I suggest that neither is Africa. At least South Africa. And SOUTH AFRICA is the confessed model for the operation.

I am a life member of the KwaZulu/Natal Hunters and Conservation Association, was involved for a short time in the devlopment of a so-called "wilderness leadership school" in South Africa, own a small ranch myself here in Idaho, and am watching with great interest the creeping change of land management here in Idaho among the large private landowners {timber companies, primarily}. I also spent a summer putting 5,500 km on a rented vehicle travelling throughout South Africa from joburg to Cape Town via Natal and the coast. Folks, ever-increasing, intensive land management is on its way wherever is doesn't already exist...

At any rate, I still try to keep somewhat abreast of the trends there, and I have hunted on a couple different game ranches in South Africa and spent some time studying the game ranch system for personal reasons related to my own place. I have hiked and travelled {a little hunting also} in some remote parts of central Africa. A true remote, wild "African" experience is available in South Africa, but it is far more difficult to obtain than most tourist hunters are willing to admit in public after they return to the States IMO. There are ranches in SA that offer a bit of the old Africa, but with its burgeoning population, highways, development and the nature of game fenced operations being what they are, it is as easy to find a wilderness-type experience in the American West as it is in South Africa. In fact, easier in my opinion. My opinion is that South Africa doesn't so much offer "Africa" as much as it offers the ability to kill a lot of animals fast "at a sitting" so-to-speak and in that only, to make a comparison, does it "beat" the US West.

"Wilderness" is not what South Africa has to sell. Hunters know, but must admit, that the relatively large-scale killing of game is what attracts them to south African game ranches and this is what has, curiously, saved the game as we all know. How many hunters have you ever heard of who travel all the way to South Africa to kill one head of game? It probably happens, but I personally have never met anyone who did. "Large bags", after all, are one of the main objectives of game ranching wherever it is practised. Many US hunters don't pay much attention to the contrived nature of game ranch hunts in South Africa and watching the various hunting shows on TV will almost never result in an education about the truth of the contrived nature game ranch management, but it is there. Game ranching is a highly sophisticated industry. Done right, it gives the impression of turning the hunter loose in "The Wild" to "experience Africa as Cornwallis Harris did" but the reality is of course, much different on many game-fenced ranches. No, on all.

I believe this German fellow is looking at what South Africa IS, and predicting what it will BE. I believe he sees the reality that the political situation in South Africa is probably headed downhill and/or the "overmanagement" and development of the game ranch system will lose its luster for many hunters, and at some point the ability to shoot a bunch of animals will outweigh WHERE they are shot, as the WHERE will be more trouble to get to and experience than its worth.

I bring this up because I believe that fellows like this guy are betting that South Africa slides into the abyss of political and economic mismanagement common to Africa, and that the hunting system and quality goes down the tubes also. Internally, some South African politicians have already criticized the game ranching industry for abuses involving canned lion hunts, etc. That they are addressing these issues indicates that there is still some life left in the concept of "fair chase", but even without canned lion hunts, is hunting impala on a 3,000 acre game-fenced ranch "fair chase"?

Add to this the threat of terrorism and political instability, ever-increasing complexity to importing trophies, and as the article states, there may in fact be a future for a fellow like this guy. Remember, NO game ranch operation happens overnight. It takes YEARS to develop same, and it is always a "work-in-progress" as the waters are tested as to which game is a money-maker and which isn't. Issues like fencing, etc, are management obstacles that merely await investment. They are not insurmountable. Take a run down to Lewiston Idaho and gander up at the cattle fencing on the mountains surrounding town and you will quickly shake off the notion that physical danger, hazard and difficulty are stop signs to fencing operations.

In the final analysis, maybe you fellows won't hunt Cape buffalo at a ranch in Texas, but the German guy is betting others will. I personally think he is dead right. I suspect that in 15 years, lots of others will!

I am old enough to remember when the rank and file of hunters spit on the ground at the notion of hunting nilgai, eland, auodad and ibex on "game farms" in Texas.

Cape buff will be just one more critter to add to the mix.

I'm just wondering when all that old, worn out Sante Fe railroad track is going to be ripped up and used to keep in the herds of elephant...

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