Hi Jaco
LOL now we can have a debate without me hijacking your thread LOL.
I have two viewpoints with regards to this whole story:
1st it is good that such an exceptional value has been placed on very rare and defiantly impressive breeding stock but in saying this I think the important thing to remember here is that Cape buffalo bulls like these are bought for their genes and not to be shot. As you know well if you want to conserve something the key is to put a price on it's head so to speak this will lure private investors and a lot of money at the same time no investor will take any chances with their investment and this is were it turns ugly for me they are camped in and treated as livestock, you cant actually blame the investor since he has a lot of money in that animal and he needs to see returns on his investment? All and all the benefits outweigh the drawbacks here breeders are looking for better genes, better blood lines and always selling and buying in so there is a small chance of in breeding. This will ensure that we have some of the best African game for years and years to come.
2[SUP]nd[/SUP] The breeding or in breading of white kudu, black impala??.. is surely just a phase it will pass but it is not good to practice in breeding and this has no long term advantages to it the overall trophy quality wont easily get any better you might get some animals with other defects due to the in breeding I can go on but all and all it is pretty much a sad story.
Now we get to the ugly side as Jaco described but it is not a breeding game as much as it is something between the game capturer and a hunting operation, some outfits do buy in game to be shot this has started happening in a lot of places I have even herd about this happening in the big wild area's of Tanzania?
The up side is that game farmers have started to realize the value of certain animals (example kudu) and are putting a premium price on some bulls, the price keeps going up until it is basically impossible to buy in fully grown trophies of kudu or waterbuck. As the hunting industry is today it is growing ever more competitive and pricing plays a large role so they key would be to price fairly and competitively and I simply cant see one doing that if you form part of the buy in and shoot segment?As you said it is not sustainable the key is to have additional land to your disposal (be it your own land or concessions) and have quota's made up on each property on a yearly basis. Now in saying concessions I am not referring to the guy who drives on the N1 and says all the land both sides of the highway is his concession land LOL this is usually were the I hunt on 100 000 acres come from, if you have a concession I firmly believe that you should at least know the owner on a first name basis and work with him on a yearly basis monitoring the numbers of game taken off his property and if you a are lucky enough to call him your neighbor well all the better!
There are a lot of operations that buy in game for breeding purposes or who will buy in nice bulls or cows of X just to introduce new genes these animals will usually be to young to hunt and in my opinion there is nothing wrong with that, man has interfered with fences and now unfortunately we have to keep interfering to ensure no in breeding or to introduce species that would have been previously found in that area.
I firmly believe that there is something to be said for hunting a specie in it's native habitat certain provinces in South Africa have stricter rules against introducing non indigenous species than others resulting in hunting Africa becoming more about the numbers of game taken on a hunt instead of the overall quality of animals taken. This also opens up the door to the game capturers who can supply these shoot and drop operations on a regular basis to replenish the stock so to speak. Here is were it becomes a numbers game basically called turnover?
Jaco I am just spit balling here but maybe a good thing would be to hunt each specie in its native habitat this will defiantly ensure a better overall hunting experience?
I don't know what the long-term solution is but hopefully buying in prices will soon exceed the trophy price that will surely put a stop to this whole debate.
Looking forward to having that beer and putting heads together so to speak!
Best Regards
Louis van Bergen