Live Animal Relocation to USA

3chunter

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With all this news I have been seeing in SA about ANC and expropriation. Who knows what will happen over there long term. Why can’t the USA with SA assistance start relocating African Animals here in the USA? I know Texas has some from back in the day but i would think it would be great for us to change whatever laws in our way to make relocation possible here. I have some land I could easily put a fence on.
What animals would thrive here versus what animals would have a tough time biologically speaking?
This is just something I have pondered on.
 
Plenty of African animals here in the states. Eland, scimitar horned oryx, gemsbok, bongo, kudu, wildebeest, zebra, aoudad sheep, ostrich, probably some others are all available to hunt in Texas and even New Mexico. My buddy killed an oryx a few weeks ago and I turned down a eland bull that honestly was priced identical to most outfitters online pricing in RSA but he was young and I wasn’t looking for a bull that wasn’t mature. Now that being said I have no idea what it would take to bring more stuff here and to be honest it’s a sketchy proposition for several reasons but the main reason I can think of is possibly introducing disease into native species populations. Secondary to that is that fences break, stuff gets out and then can compete with and in some cases outcompete native species. Example of that is aoudad sheep taking over native desert bighorn habitat. Now with that being said you then have a philosophical question of “should you do it, not can you do it?”
 
I’ve heard that the largest single herd of eland in the world in on the island of Ni’ihau in Hawaii. They have gemsbok there too.
 
With all this news I have been seeing in SA about ANC and expropriation. Who knows what will happen over there long term. Why can’t the USA with SA assistance start relocating African Animals here in the USA? I know Texas has some from back in the day but i would think it would be great for us to change whatever laws in our way to make relocation possible here. I have some land I could easily put a fence on.
What animals would thrive here versus what animals would have a tough time biologically speaking?
This is just something I have pondered on.
They are pretty much already here. You can go fill your fenced area tomorrow from US stocks.
 
With all this news I have been seeing in SA about ANC and expropriation. Who knows what will happen over there long term. Why can’t the USA with SA assistance start relocating African Animals here in the USA? I know Texas has some from back in the day but i would think it would be great for us to change whatever laws in our way to make relocation possible here. I have some land I could easily put a fence on.
What animals would thrive here versus what animals would have a tough time biologically speaking?
This is just something I have pondered on.
Yes we already have most of them in Texas. I've been in the exotics biz all my life and as soon as I think something is it here someone shows up with it. Gazelles of all kinds, lesser Kudu, Chinese Takin, and the list goes on. New genetics would be great. EC Kudu would handle winter much better than the East African genetics here. Most game animals came through zoos over the decades.
I have a friend that just bought rhinos from Namibia so it is possible. Big $$$ required to grease all the palms to get it done. I can't get frozen triple washed sheep embryos from Namibia but he gets live rhinos?
Fun discussion.
 
Yes we already have most of them in Texas. I've been in the exotics biz all my life and as soon as I think something is it here someone shows up with it. Gazelles of all kinds, lesser Kudu, Chinese Takin, and the list goes on. New genetics would be great. EC Kudu would handle winter much better than the East African genetics here. Most game animals came through zoos over the decades.
I have a friend that just bought rhinos from Namibia so it is possible. Big $$$ required to grease all the palms to get it done. I can't get frozen triple washed sheep embryos from Namibia but he gets live rhinos?
Fun discussion.
Fun discussion indeed! We live in AZ but my wife’s from Texas and so I started hunting various ranches in Texas a decade ago. I introduced a few guys from work a few years ago to it as well and one guy is obsessed with trying to figure out how to make it work in AZ but land value here makes it very difficult.

I do believe our climate would do very well for animals from RSA though. Fun to imagine kudu, bushbuck and Nyala running through the mountains here with springbok and gemsbok in the desert.
 
Fun discussion indeed! We live in AZ but my wife’s from Texas and so I started hunting various ranches in Texas a decade ago. I introduced a few guys from work a few years ago to it as well and one guy is obsessed with trying to figure out how to make it work in AZ but land value here makes it very difficult.

I do believe our climate would do very well for animals from RSA though. Fun to imagine kudu, bushbuck and Nyala running through the mountains here with springbok and gemsbok in the desert.
Exotics require very solid private property rights. This is why they do so well in Texas. We have no regulations. If you want to hunt you do need a hunting license to hunt exotics but that's it. This is equal to how RSA allows full private ownership under fence. The success of these two models is unrivaled in the world of conservation.
 
Well there are lots where we live. We can see the neighbors Gemsbok herd from our patios.. There are very nice Sable, Kudu, Gravies Zebra, black wildebeest, eland. Nyala, blesbuck, Impala, sitatungo, Thompson's and Grant's gazelle.

From North Africa there are tons of scimitar horned oryx, Arabian oryx, of course lots of Aoudad. We personally have a small herd of Addax. We'd love to get some dama gazelles which are available but expensive and need special protection from predators. Our long term plan is build predator proof fence around a few acres surrounding our house and get a maybe 2 or 3 female and a male. The various oryx and addax as well as sable, etc. are very "predator resistant" at to the Texas predators. We do have a neighbor who lost fallow to a mountain lion (which can be shot on sight here).

There are Cape buffalo and giraffes and Roan. I would love to have Roan but they are very expensive. As are bongo and sitatunga. Wart hog and red River hog. African porcupine. There is a live white rhino nearby.

You can find lots of various sheep and goats. Markhor and various breeds and cross breeds of Ibex. Kangaroo, especially the big reds. Emu and ostrich.

There are no Bontebok and I'm told you cannot import them. Not even embryos that could be implanted into blesbok. As for laws that need changing, things like Arabian Oryx are an example, the males are not worth much because it is very difficult to get a permit to shoot one. Even if you own it. Pretty universally the females are worth more than the males. However if mature males cannot be shot, the spread is greater.. It's kind a pyramid scheme, the more rare and popular ones bringing more money until they are bred up and supply is greater.

They are breeding white bison by crossing with Charolais cattle. Lots of regular bison.

Egyptian geese are now the 6th most populous wild goose in Texas. We have 5 living here. A neighbor has swans and various ducks.

About every deer species is available including lots of red deer and axis deer which along with blackbuck and Aoudad are feral and can be hunted quite easily if you have access to land. If it is unfenced around here and has food, shelter and water... those species as well as hogs and whitetail are very likely there.

Most of these critters have originated from surplus stock in zoos. Too many seem to suffer from a lot of inbreeding so could definitely use a supply of new genetics.

Big business trading wildlife in Texas. They are sold as great investment opportunity. There are tax advantages but nothing different from cattle or any other livestock except that you can drop a lot of money into very few head with certain wildlife. And probably lose money faster than with domestic livestock... so great tax write offs;)
 
There are TONS of African animals here in the US. If you want some, go get yourself some.
 
Ask the landowners in Argentina what the introduced red deer did to the native deer population. I am not against introduction of non-native species in a controlled area, but things can happen. Lots of available species already here to hunt.
 
How bout we stop importing non native species unless it’s for agriculture to feed our people? Let our native species thrive and spread as they like and can. This is some first world hobbyist nonsense. I remember listening to Kevin Robertson saying how awesome it was to have Cape buffalo in Texas. Probably doesn’t hurt that that’s his job now.. Utter poppycock says I. Most of us are usually up in arms when something like this happens in Africa but not so here. How about a little objectivity.
 
How about tiny 10? Duiker, steenbok.

I think they would do well here in SC. And bushbuck, kudu also.
 

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