Louis Theroux's African Hunting Holiday
Louis Theroux journeys to the centre of the controversial South African hunting industry. It's big business, attracting thousands of holiday hunters annually. Keeping wild animals fenced in on farms has made it cheaper and easier to hunt than ever before, but Louis discovers that this industry, instead of endangering species, has actually increased animal numbers. Staying at a safari hunting lodge, Louis hears that each kill has a price. The potential shopping list is endless, ranging from $250 for a porcupine to $100,000 for a rhino. It's a hunter's paradise.
This is a very popular tourist attraction - particularly among Americans. Louis meets such visitors and tries to understand their motivation to kill for pleasure, joining them as they go hunting. He meets novice hunter Ann-Marie, who originally only came to accompany her husband but gets caught up in the excitement and decides she wants to try to hunt an animal herself. She tells Louis that, apparently, your first kill is a total rush - although she would worry about killing a zebra as it's too much like a horse.
Two of the local landowners, Piet Venter and Piet Warren, breed animals for hunting and have a perhaps surprising sensitivity towards the animals they've raised. They take particular care to try to ensure any animal is killed swiftly so they suffer minimal trauma. Former vet Lolly Fourie, who allows hunting on his land, explains how he no longer hunts as he gets no pleasure from it nowadays. Hearing their arguments in favour of the industry, Louis arranges to go on a hunt of his own. Unsure if he really can pull the trigger, as he looks at a wart-hog down the arrow of a crossbow he faces his beliefs head on and must make the decision.
Easy to judge 3rd world countries trying to make money to put food on their plate when statically Americans are the largest food wasters in the world. 1st world perspective trying to solve a 3rd world problem. Also willing to bet all of you eat meat, wear leather shoes, have leather couches and chairs, leather purses and wallets, wear cologne made from the extracts of beaver glands, use products from walmart made overseas and tested on animals, or let alone have Apple iPhones made by children in Chinese factories who aren't allowed to get their id's back until they pay their living expenses debt.
Hope those scum yanks get cancer and die,least they deserve for killing those beautiful animals
Every Body can have there own apinyin dont be so harsh
I watched this documentary in horror. I cannot believe that caging an animal and then killing it is called hunting. A true hunter will go into the bush and track the animal in their own surroundings giving the animal some kind of advantage as well. Having a den right by the waterhole where animals come in the heat only to be shot is not hunting. And then a few photos later, do these "hunters" take the meat home and eat it for dinner, or do they walk away leaving somebody to clean it up. Piet Warren, this is all about money for you, but you cannot take money with you when you die. You cannot buy your way out of hell....
F'ing lowlife human beings killing animals like this. This is one of the reasons the planet is in such dire shape. These people should be locked up and forced to survive by killing one another. Absolutely no respect for life.
Theroux's judgmental attitude disgusted me. (1) This kind of hunting trade has hugely increased the numbers of these animals, helping reverse their decline and keeping them off the endangered species list; (2) death by an arrow or bullet is far more humane than the way these animals die in the wild is horrific - most of them are literally eaten alive; and (3) we raise hundreds of millions of animals every year for the express purpose of killing them for some purpose (meat, leather), so it's ridiculous to wring your hands over this kind of hunting trade and ignore the farms you drive past to get to one of these game ranches.
(1) "This kind of hunting trade has hugely increased the numbers of these animals, helping reverse their decline and keeping them off the endangered species list" - increasing the number of animals of a certain species just to kill them for pleasure means is not something positive, it's like increasing the number of polar bears or dogs, for that matter, just so we can kill them. We are doing the animals or species no favours by doing so.
(2) "death by an arrow or bullet is far more humane than the way these animals die in the wild is horrific - most of them are literally eaten alive" - death by an arrow or bullet may not be as gruesome as being eaten alive or starving to death, but's killing an animal for pleasure or to feel "the rush" of excitement is by no means humane. Also, they're not saving the animals that are being eaten alive or starving to death - that is still happening in the wild, they are breeding more animals to kill. This means that the amount of suffering and death has been increased and not lessened.
(3) "we raise hundreds of millions of animals every year for the express purpose of killing them for some purpose (meat, leather), so it's ridiculous to wring your hands over this kind of hunting trade and ignore the farms you drive past to get to one of these game ranches." - I completely agree with you on this point.
I hunt and feed my family with it, going to Africa to hunt a game farm isn't for me. . That being said, if wildlife in Africa is going to survive, hunting will save it.
Blood thirsty savages!
Why can we not get this episode in Israel ? Please help !!!!
I saw it a while ago and now where ever i go to it says it's unavailable in my country :(
As usual Louis does an amazing job infiltrating the minds of people I hope are a very small minority, and that I would seriously avoid like the plague. BUT, As always I learned something very profound from Louis' work. That is, when we eat meat, we are directly supporting an industry, almost exactly the same as this, but perhaps billions of times per worse (in terms of the amount of real suffering). Louis said it well when he said he cant kill the animal but can eat the meat. Louis; should do a show on factory farming and abattoirs next so we can develop this idea further.
This is a disgusting, terrible practice. Can we start 'canned' human hunting based on this logic? Worst ever Louis
It's amazing how people are so quick to judge others lifestyles. If someone doesn't agree with the homosexual lifestyle they are a bigot and wrong but if someone doesn't like hunting they somehow are are a prince of justice. The reality is that different people enjoy different things and we should judge other people less.
I love animals (I live with 3 cats & 1dog) but I also enjoy hunting. It is important for me to stay in touch with the origin of the meat we all so readily consume. I manage, hunt , and eat the deer on my land so that the meat in the grocery has meaning and I appreciate where it comes from. If you aren't willing to understand and kill the meat you consume then you are selfish and have no business eating meat. You want the benefits of meat without having to take any responsibility for it
Just the opposite of what you said is true regarding "if someone doesn't like hunting they somehow are a prince of justice". The laws are dispensed via hunting and "gaming" agencies like Fish and Game, and many others, in support of hunters. Anyone who challenges this is labeled a freak. Rarely do the lawmakers, who are supported by the big money hunting advocates, vote in favor of animal protection laws that have any teeth. People who see shooting animals for pleasure is wrong are no different from people who call child abuse wrong. Fear is fear and pain is pain whether it be human or animal experiencing it.
Sick .. Everything beautiful is being flushed by these 2 legged monsters . I've noticed the US is now showing tabloid wildlife documentaries full of lies and half truths. You can't watch real wildlife , just sad , bored lonely penned animals .. and wildlife being killed by humans over and over. They are no longer teaching how these living creatures live and how they fit into the world.. so sad ! The new America , if it doesn't make you money .. kill it . If killing it makes you money kill it .. Welcome to the United States of ALEC .. America is dead
When Animal Planet debuted in 1996 it's slogan was "same planet, different world". In 2008, it relaunched under a new slogan "Animal Planet, Surprisingly Human" as part of a new branding campaign to "shed it's soft and furry side for programming and an image with more bite" designed to tap into basic human instincts, to which I would add "killer instincts". They wanted something more "edgy". It was decided that "drab" narration about a lion going in for the kill was inferior to actual footage and "the blood-curdling scream of the doomed creature as it meets its demise." Now instead of Steve Irwin who had a deep respect for crocodiles and educated people about them, we've get trash like Gator Boys, Beaver Brothers, Hillbilly Hand Fishin and Turtle Man Takes Manhatten, to name a few. These are the new role models for kids and the new "reality TV. It makes me wonder if Animal Planet hasn't been bought out or paid off by the macho special interest hunting and fishing bunch. I can hardly stand to watch this stuff and would never let my kids watch either.
In nature animals tend to kill and eat, or are killed and eaten. It has been that way since the dawn of life it self, this is why we can roughly divide up the animal kingdom into preditors and prey. As a species, humans have developed agriculture to such a degree that we have radically altered the planet, destroying habitat after habitat and species after species and causing the extinctions of many hundreds of species even in modern times with what most who are opposed to hunting would consider acceptible farming practices. This is understandable since for virtually everyone who has ever complained about hunting, meat is something that comes from a plastic packet on a supermarket shelf. The disconnect between our food and where it comes from, what it once was, is not willful disregard for life, rather it is a result of moving away from the agrarian life style of our ancestors. The hunter tries to close that gap between what food is, and what it was. I see what is being done on these reserves in Africa as being just a different form of farming, a form which ensures the survival of native species, a form which connects people with the life and death struggle to survive that is nature. It is true to say that it is an artificial situation, a genuinly natural situation would be, for example more difficult to hunt however, the real complaint here is the desanitization of killing animals. Hunting connects people with the killing of animals, where as conventional farming keeps the killing out of sight, and therefore out of mind. Not sure I know of what I speak, ask yourself this question, if there was a rat in my house would I set a rat trap or put out baited poison. Now ask yourself if you found the killing of an impalla disturbing. If the answer to both questions is yes then perhaps you are judging the morality of hunting by how cute you find the animals being killed. Unregulated hunting can damage animal populations and conventional agriculture wipes out natural habitats and whole species, what I find astonishing is how a new form of agriculture can protect habitats and species, and all that is required for this new form of agriculture to survive is for those who wish it to be allowed to connect with the animals at the moment of death. The squemish need not involve themselves in this process, but just as hunters do not impose their views, perhaps it is not unreasonable to ask them to accept that their squemishness should not be imposed upon others? Just a thought.
I agree with most of the points you've made, but I think the real issue here is that "trophy hunting" is not hunting for survival or hunting to eat. Trophy hunters kill animals simply for pleasure, or as they put it, "to feel the rush of killing an animal". This is what I find disturbing.
In your example where you mention a rat, most people that would use poison, instead of using humane traps, to kill a rat, don't really enjoy "the thrill" of killing the rat, they do it for other reasons, not to feel the rush of taking the life of an animal.
You also mention that maybe people shouldn't impose their views on hunters the same way that hunters don't impose their views on others. However, everyone has opinions about different issues. Some hunters may feel very strongly about Asian countries boiling dogs alive and oppose this. I find that most of the time, when it comes to hunting, especially trophy hunting, what people want to express is they empathy towards victim, the animals that are being killed unnecessarily. When you see someone doing something that you consider morally wrong, whether it is legal or not (laws change constantly as out views on morality evolve), it is hard to think that it is their right to do it, especially when there's victim involved. To put it simply, it's not about taking something away from the person, but simply asking for the animal not be killed simply for some sort of twisted pleasure.
The DC Sniper hunted free-range animals, too. Should he be considered a sportsman?
Hunting for sport is gods work.
Disgusting. The animals are not potatoes. Why are they being treated with such disregard for their lives?
Louie has a great talent for withholding his judgements on events and people whom the rest of us immediately judge. This allows him to get closer to his subjects and portray them in their habitat undisturbed. Although I still think his documentary on the Westboro Baptists is his magnum opus, this is also an insightful film.
After watching the doc and seeing these people acting normally, not under the duress of argumentative questioning, I feel far more assured in my initial judgement that their activities derive not from a spirit of conservation but a perverse and arguably evil impulse that derives pleasure and shallow ego gratification from killing. As per usual evil cites its ends to justify its means, but conservation is an accidental outcome and you can not cite an accidental outcome as proof of your ethical intentions. That is like calling yourself a hero when a bullet you fired haphazardly into the air happened to kill a wanted terrorist on it's downward trajectory.
These people see themselves as noble savages carrying on an ancient sport, but there is more sport and honor in your average videogame.
be worth paying t hunt that bloke who owns the farm
Hunting out of necessity is the only reasonable hunting; Not for sport, not for fun, not for pleasure, not for a thrill, not for a high, and not for a rush.
I do disagree with many of the comments I have read about these people, the hunters in question, are being considered evil--they are not evil, they are simply shallow and in need of something to fill a void within them that will allow them to brag later to others so they can come off as interesting.
The breeders who are maintaining the live stock for hunting are correct when they make the claim they are preserving the species, as humans tend to dominate everything in nature.
We would all be wise to reserve our judgments on these people before getting a first hand experience on who these people really are. A silly documentary with a timid host isn't going to be enough to provide us with the information necessary to properly evaluate and assess the situation.
You misunderstand Louie. He is not timid, he is cautious and he realizes that to show the truth of something you must be ever so careful not to disturb it. A journalist who came in with a big ego and aggressive questions would never get close to these people. He would be kicked off the reserve in a day and even if he didn't his attitude would cause the subjects to close up or react in anger. In a way Louie himself is a hunter stalking into the midst of his prey, quiet and 'timid', so that he can see them as they truly are.
These guys are visionaries and coming from a family with a 50 year history in East Africa and eastern Congo I REALLY enjoy outdoor sports people who haven't seen the levels of illegal poaching and the reality of living in Africa really have no logical argument for why this is wrong. It is a bigger crime to mass produce chickens, batter,fry them and then advertise it on children's television, it really makes me laugh at how UN educated most of the general public from a western society is. Peace ;) and always stand up for what you believe in no matter how many think your wrong
I am completely appalled by the mere concept of this movie. The level of evil and inhumanity of these people is beyond belief. To put a lion in a fence so you can shoot it and then call it hunting is absolutely ludicrous. These people do not deserve to be called human. I would challenge anyone who tries to justify this as a means to increase animal populations. It sickens me to my core. These poor animals have no way to protect themselves and absolutely no chance of survival. That is not hunting, it's pure evil. I would like to put these people in the fenced areas with the lions with no weapons and see how brave they are then.
I couldn't have said it any better. Great comment!
Nothing but devils. Sickening
To think that grown adults would kill a defenseless lion trapped in an enclosed area and call it hunting. The people who provide these farms for canned hunting are obviously only out to make a profit. How dare you raise a lion for 5 years and then take money so someone can shoot it. A real hunter does not have to hunt in an enclosed area and call it hunting. To hunt just for trophies to show off is rediculous, but then again man is always looking for a way to boast his ego!!!!!!!! So, what's next. Will man come to the point where they can confine a human and receive money so someone can hunt them. So, those of you with trophy rooms that are supplied by canned hunting, how proud can you really be!!!!!!!!!
I'm from Australia and feel that it is a product of Western Society to demonise hunters. It is irresponsible to make an negative impact on nature and then disclaim responsibility by not taking the required steps to fix the problems that we as a society are responsible. American, Chinese, Australian or wherever we are from.
For example, wild pigs were released in Australia as game but the population has now exploded and the native flaura and fauna is being destroyed as a result.
Are hunters who hunt pigs in Australia "sick twisted sociopath's" for taking responsibility for societies past mistakes and making a contribution to rectify the problem? Or are the people who stand by and point the finger at people who doing something to help the real sickos?
As Albert Einstein said "The world is a dangerous place to live; not because of the people who are evil, but because of the people who don't do anything about it."
How can a FATHER teach his children to do that???????
so sick, why don you stay there and we shoot you???
Don´t buy or promote products derived by these animals or others like whales, seals etc.
I don´t see the excitment to shoot a defendless animal staying there eating or just resting.
American people so greedy and take advantage in Africa.
Pleasure hunters are sick twisted sociopath's this is a known fact, why people are so ignorant to this fact is beyond me. If you're killing to eat, cool, if not, you have mental problems, sorry, but 99% of logical people would agree with me.
I think that is a very shallow view on the topic. I agree that hunting for sport is stupid and shooting an animal bred for hunting is utterly sadistic. But there are also many good reasons for hunting.
In Australia for example, we must routinely cull Kangaroos as there simply does not exist enough habitat to support the population. It is done to ensure the continuing survival of the animals living in certain areas.
Another example is the release of wild pigs that are not native to Australia. This was a mistake made in the late 1800's and was done to provide an alternative food source to early settlers. We now know that the explosion of the pig population has caused a significant impact on native flaura and fauna with many native species becoming extinct or endangered.
It is our social responsibility to take steps to manage the mistakes we have made. It may be a harsh reality but hunting can be a necessary way of correcting the lack of foresight of our predecessors - for the benefit of the animals themselves.
This is factual? Your post is not logical but fanatical. Are you a licensed psychiatrist? Where did you get your 99% statistic from?
I Would never trophy hunt by the way.
they may be sick twisted sociopaths, but they are sick twisted sociopaths who have lots of money that can be and is used to look after the poor communities in the area. as long as they are regulated and restricted and we do not get distracted by the money and that the meat is used to feed the poor, it is not that bad.
@Richard Hollis...Is that all you got from my comment was to point out that I said country instead of continent? My bad. St*pid me...oy my god arent I the id**t and you're just sooo smart. I suppose the rest went right over your head and all you could focus on was my geographical error. Would it help for me to repost with the word continent put in instead of country or would that not garner your time and efforts to post a contructive reply as there was no need to correct someones error...
Does anyone care about Africa as a country and what is going on there? Game reserves? Get the meaning of a GAME RESERVE??? South Africa is a SMALL portion of Africa. The rest of Africa is in poverty, starving and dying, lawless, corrupt...so many have no food water or animals to feed themselves. The endless poaching that goes on for horns for cultural remedies or rituals ect... or just prized possessions. Ethiopia and famine!! no food!! then someone with money from a prosperous gluttonous country can come over and shoot African wild life for the thrill or a trophy or just to say they shot a certain type of animal, what ever sick pleasure they get from it while the rest of the country starves. Male hunting my arse...Look at Africa and the humanitarian aspect of it. Do you feel okay going into a country with hundreds of thousands of starving people, mostly children and killing food that they dont have, basically taking out of their mouths?? If you do then your part of the problem with this world. Educate yourself on Africa! The senseless killing(people and animals) and exploitation of this country needs to stop before there is nothing left. Before you pull the trigger perhaps think about someone taking food from your child or relatives mouth, just for pleasure.
"Does anyone care about Africa as a country and what is going on there?"
Is that a trick question? Africa isn't a country...
It's not a sick perverse pleasure at all it's human nature to hunt, humans have and do worse to each other. But if you can take something that seems sick and perverse and turn it into a cash cow (scuse the pun) and something that will help Africas economy in a positive way while not endangering a species then..Why the hell not ?
zaphodity, it's idiots like you who are corrupting the human species. You do not deserve to call yourself human. It is not human nature to hunt for sport. Humans have been hunting for thousands of years to feed themselves and provide clothing from the pelts, but trophy hunting is something that is derived from pure evil egotistical souls who feel the need kill defenseless animals to make them feel brave....THEY ARE COWARDS AND DO NOT DESERVE TO BREATHE THE SAME AIR AS THOSE BEAUTIFUL ANIMALS. SICKENING PIG!
How do you feel about humans like your self who steal milk from poor "defenseless", I think you meant "defenceless", cows and goats that were produced for THEIR offspring. Not for greedy humans to turn in to ice cream which will turn them in to fat "cows"? Are you vegan? Or are you just a coward and can't kill your "meat" your self, and resort to buying it in a grocery store or McDonald’s©? Do you eat eggs (offspring) that are kidnapped from chickens? Or eat cake, that contain un-hatched baby chickens?
There are other ways to make money and build cash flow. Your justification for their hunting is pitiful at best. There are certain moral and ethical dilemmas associated with hunting a caged animal which you couldn't begin to understand. And to refute your first statement, it is a sick and perverse pleasure to derive joy from hunting an animal simply for a high or rush. Try boxing or martial arts or climbing a mountain before you decide the best pleasure is the quickest pleasure between you and the trigger.
Anyone who eats meat because it tastes good (other than for sustenance) is indulging themselves at the same expense as a hunter. The hunter is forced to be at peace with this, are you?
As a male. I must say that the male ego is the scourge of the planet. This is a documentary of animals shooting animals for fun. Back in dying Europe and America, the male is under assault from all angles. This is perhaps a necessity for the survival of the world.
What if you just wound the animal terribly and it runs off and suffers horribly for a week until it dies? Get a clue Paul. 'Major rush' that is what serial killers feel when they kill animals and people. it's disgusting. To the people there; find another way to make a living.
And keeping animals caged from birth until they are released to be shot by American psychos is no kind of life.
how can anyone kill an animal like this just for sport? It is needlessly cruel. I wish just for once that the hunters could become the hunted and see how they like it.
where do you get that from, rachelnico?
South Africa seems like a horrible vacation spot...unless your white
hunting contributes 83% of all funds to the timbavati, ecotourism only contributes 3%. the timbavati pay to have the fences surrounding it and the kruger repaired and maintained, they use things money to employ people who wander around with semi-auto rifles to find the spore of poachers, hunt them down and arrest them (when all the rhino poaching happened, not a single rhino was poached in the timbavati because of these guys), the money is also used to support entire communities who would not be alive if it was not for the hunting being allowed on the timbavati, the trophy hunter buys the trophy and all the meat is used to support communities and keep families alive, there are some families who can only afford 1 mug of stampmeilies a day, this meat is given to them along with a job and they are kept alive. some of the money has been spent to build a school for kids in these areas because they have none, you take it for granted that you have a school near you and cant even begin to understand what this means to the people there. the animals do not suffer, whenever a trophy hunter comes, they are not allowed to shoot alone, a professional hunter will go with them and WILL NOT allow a person to go hunting unless that person can kill the animal with one shot and without the animal suffering. if you cut off hunting, you will be responsible for the death and destruction of entire communities and families of both humans and animals. and remember, the only way that you can have a say in this world is if you have money to back it up and ecotourism does not provide enough money to have a significant say, the only reason that the kruger does well is because it is government subsidized meaning that the government pay to keep it open, not the ecotourism, and the fact that the timbavati helps it so much. there is also a huge difference between hunting, culling and poaching. hunting is sustainable if it is done correctly, culling is a method but not the best it is traumatizing for survivors and does not benefit the communities as much if not at all and poaching is cruelty.
I like you sir, bit of common sense.
The conclusion is that hunting keeps the most endangered lions on the planet alive in Timbavati besides millions of other individuals of myriad species.
and yet fishing is perfectly acceptable...
Absolutely disgusting!!! They even teach children to murder animals!!! I
couldn't watch it any longer because this activity disgusts me and makes me angry! I hope these "proud hunters" suffer and die of ass cancer, these a--holes are less worth than dogshit!
Like other say, hunting should be for getting food and not for fun!
Anyone that goes hunting for entertainment and to boost the ego is mentally sick! Lots of mass murderers started off killing animals because they get ecxited. First small ones and then bigger ones, and after they killed the biggest one, they go after humans...
Teaching children how to gun down an clueless animal for fun is like raising a potent killer. Also weapons don't belong in the hands of children! A child should learn to respect animals. A person that doesn't respect animals, doesn't respect humans!
All these pathetic excuses for a human should watch the doc "Earthlings"!
But I guess their souls are already so rotten that they even will enjoy watching suffering and dying animals!
hunting deer in Scotland is no different, its actually a big industry so is the salmon fishing. I know because I worked for an estate as a water bailiff in the highlands a few years back.
That is what the national parks do, they allow people to take photos of animals. But it is not enough, they do not raise sufficient money to be self sufficient. A lot of state funded national parks are dependent on the breeding programs and stock replacement of hunting concessions. So yes I accept that photos are certainly a less bloody affair, but you can't charge £100,000 for a photo. So your issue is that money talks, sadly that's the way of it, and yes, its shite. Also there are pretty much no Rhino left in national parks because they are too easy to get at. Private concessions care about every single individual, yes that might be due to profit margins, but at least those rhinos are breathing.
Hunting is also healthy for a population, only the best trophies are taken which means that they are allowed to live to a ripe age before they are killed, thats a much better way of doing things than raising a cow for two years, giving it steriods so that it grows at an accelerated rate, quickly outstripping the natural capabilities of their bone structure. The animals in the bush live a more natural life than pretty much any animal bred for produce.
Take Kruger for example, there are huge herds of elephants and buffalo that used to be cropped (Whole herds were shot). These herds are destroying their own natural habitat (by putting a fence around an area one has to act as god), the act of culling allowed rejuvenation of huge tracts of land. Now with public pressure to stop the culling Kruger is being damaged much faster than any human process can cope with. Elephants will turn Kruger into the kalahari. I know it sounds counter intuitive, but I am a conservationist, I have been in gunfights to protect animals. Unless we start culling elephants again there will not last much longer. The same can be said of the hunting concessions. They essentially sell licenses to crop their herd, that is all they do.
If you really want to get shitty at someone that kills animals have a go at trophy poachers. They are the ones that don't give two shits about animal welfare, they are the ones that killed all of krugers big tuskers and brought the southern african White Rhino population to the brink of collapse for the sake of ancient remedies. Private hunters and their concessions are on our side of that fight and try to put right the wrongs of poaching.
I see from your comment Andrew that this is an acceptable way to keep a species from becoming extinct. I believe that maybe in some cases it just might be the only way but that is only because of some humans desire to hunt for sport. I cannot see how someone can take an animals life in the name of sport. Animals feel pain, have families, some very similar to us. How can you say that the hunters have love for their kill. How can you love something and then shoot it for so called sport. A solution would be to educate and show hunters that what they are doing is not acceptable at all & hopefully they will see their ignorance & start shooting with a camera instead of a gun. That would show love. That is what we are trying to do, create awareness and try to show the hunters that because they like to kill does not mean it is right or humane.
I lived and worked as an anti poaching ranger in Kruger national park for a while. Hunting has proved to be the most sustainable way to conserve Africa's great game. Without the fences most of these animals would have been hunted to extinction and the magic of Africa lost forever. Many of the owners of private hunting concessions use the profits from hunting to buy and rear endangered stock which they will never allow to be hunted. They perform a service for the rest of the world, yes it may seem gruesome to many, but the alternatives are far worse. I personally am not a fan of the "canned hunt" idea, but it is a means to an end, an end that we all want to see. The preservation of a world that would have been lost to us if it weren't for the work these people do. This is not the same as the days of the great white hunter, when species were hunted until they were no more. These animals are given the opportunity to live a life in as natural an environment as is possible with a finite amount of land. I know some professional hunters personally and I assure you that their love for animals is paramount in their hearts. So please, don't judge them as monsters, you could not be further from the truth. If you have a better solution, let's hear it.
Can't watch anymore because it's making me feel sick. I really like Louis Theroux' programmes, but not this one. She said, 'they're not caged in'. No dear, they're fenced it. Killing pregnant cows and feeding the unborn babes to lions. Gruesome.
Dean, I respect your point.
Sparkke, The trophy hunters are not the ones eating their kill. They are not interested in the meat at all. They are interested in the trophy.
This is off topic, but in response to you…I have not eaten meat in 15 years and I have done research on slaughter houses. Humans have enough resources (food and vitamin) to survive healthily without meat.
I do not like that some people hunt their food, however if the animal is not near extinction and the entire animal is going to be used, then that is a different story than “hunting” in an enclosed area so you can put the head of a beautiful life on your living room wall.
All you people who are disgusted by hunting, let me say this, how do you think the meat that you eat in anything gets on your plate? It doesn't drop dead for you. You might want to watch how slaughter houses kill the animals before being haters about this.
To Louis buddy, you need to harden up, ham dinner doesn't fall from the sky.
Without hunting in SA there would be no game, some facts for you, today in SA there are more antelope then previously in South african history per square mile, there are more leopard per square mile than before, hunting in south african brings around 5 billion US $ to the country, which further provides funding for research, development and protection of endangered species. Hunting is a natural culling process though i dont agree with the way they hunt in this program, hunting provided you eat the meat is perfectly fine, if you could think of another constructive way to bring 5 billion US $ around 50 billion rand to south africa, please be my guest and speak to them in SA. Hunting helps the entire community in SA where there has been no control of hunting in other parts of africa, you will find no game to hunt, in South africa, hunting is controlled and produces results.
The fact that this “game” is so popular among Americans is an embarrassment to America. A game should have two equal and willing opponents. These animals are fenced in. A paid and almost guaranteed win, should not lead to the accomplished feeling trophy hunters appear to experience. It’s like feeling good about yourself for acing a final exam that you purchased the answers to. Why don’t trophy hunters find someone else with the same passion they have for hunting, grab their guns, and head to the woods to hunt each other? I would think the “rush” from winning a fair game would be even greater.
lots of blood i saw lots of blood lots of blood .. did you see the blood i saw lots of blood (haha what a psychopath, at 4o mins)
pathetic, there is nothing hard or impressive about hiding and shooting things with high powered rifles. Go out and hunt things with a spear like a real man and then i might be impressed.
i think this is horrible. though, i am a meat eater.. and i respect people's passions for hunting..
louis finds the ignorant of the ignorant its ridiculous. lol
Hunting has been one of my parent's activity in the fall. They have been hunting for moose on the Gaspe peninsula for several year. My father was born and raised in that area, part of a family of 13 kids, hunting was a way to feed every one. Still to this day, when i go visit them, my mom is still proud to put her best roast on the table, and i'll admit moose is a lot better than beef and i know it was fed naturally. Although i can say it would be near impossible for me to shoot an animal that size, even killing a spider makes me feel puzzled. I did raise chicken for meat one summer, the killing day was an awfull day but i wanted to be part of it. That was my one and last attempt.
I eat mainly vegetarian when i am at home, but i do crave meat sometimes specially lamb.
Yes i know!...............i admit
az
Very interesting doc!
I think the key point needed to explored further was the comment, "This is Africa". The presenter struggled with his own western perspective and forgot that he was in a continent littered with civil war and immense life suffering. Private, maintained, and controlled killing of a food supply in a starving nation is likely a step in the right direction for the fate of Africa?
The question that should have been asked of Louis at the end is: "What is your opinion of those that do kill the meat they eat?" He admitted he would not kill the animal but would willingly partake of the meat. What is his ethics in this reality of Life and Death to sustain Life?
I'm trying to find and watch all of Louis' Weird Weekends documentaries. He really is the best documentary reporter I've ever seen, and though his series is inherently "exploitative" of odd and frequently bizarre people and situations, I do sense (as a former journo) that Louis' natural curiosity, adventurous spirit, and fairness as a reporter give all of us a window into people and worlds that we'd otherwise not know. To me, those traits are the hallmark of a great reporter, and Louis is that and a lot more. He's really a 5-star presenter.
The only little city boys in this doc are the so called hunters.
I agree with this being more "shooting" than "hunting", but that seems to ensure that the animal dies quickly with less room for error, and therefore less pain and suffering.
I think most of these people could be cased more as wanna-be hunters, with eyes on the prize more than the hunt, so it's probably good to hold their hand and make sure they don't make a mess everywhere.
If they acctually went hunting in Africa they would probably become lion food.
It also seems like a good way to keep a kerb on illegal poaching which I believe is a way bigger problem with way less concern for the animal and surroundings. After all it is in the farmers best interest to not have a species go extinct.
As long as the meat isn't being wasted (including to feed the other animals), It also seems a more humane way to treat animals than any factory farm.
I have to say that for once I kinda disagree with Louis, and side with the owners of the farms. I guess he comes under the many (not all) people that when faced with the real truth of how there food gets to them, they don't want to know.
If most people really realized what their meat went through (alive and dead) before it got to their plate they would probably praise this way of farming, with adjustments for species and geography.
Free range, grass fed, no kill room....
who?
What a pathetic, feckless little city boy. He should go home and eat his steaks, nicely wrapped in clean plastic, and read his animal picture books. He's a bloody hypocrite...eat the meat but don't kill the animals.
of every one commenting, how many of you have actualy managed a game farm in South Africa and understand how to manage the animals?? and don't think that because you read articles that you know all.
but all the parts of them animals are used, even lions.
I am some wot okay with hunting as long as every part of the animal is utilized and it was killed humanely but these arseholes,wow,I hope they meet their demise by way of being cut down by one pissed off Lion!
you also forget urbanisation. many game farms like boekenhoutkloof can't have lions because the farm is too small. a lion pride needs an area with a diameter of 12km for their territory. and what do you think? the carcasses are just thrown on the side of the road? that is the difference between poaching and hunting. the are huge communities around game farms and hunting camps, poor people, who can not afford meat all the time. the visitors are paying huge amounts to hunt, a buffelo can yeild over 200kg of meat. a family of for can do with 200-300g per meal. and as for elephants, they are very destructive, they can turn a forest in to a barren grass plain in a couple of hours, if they like an area they breed more, you can not have an over population of elephants on a farm. you will kill many other species with out touching a rifle. do you know how much an elephant costs? nothing because there are so many farms desperate to get rid of them. you can't cull them because of various organisations so you can either sell or hunt them (yes you can eat elephant meat). selling is out of the question, there are so few people wanting to buy them and you can't keep them, the herd will get too big for the farm and make the place unihabitable for almost all wildlife. at least hunting them, you can get some money and be able to feed the communities you support.
john you are thinking of uncontrolled hunting. there is a huge difference, these days if you want to hunt you need to get a permit. game farms are only allowed to give a certain amount of permits to hunt various animals and within that, certain amounts per gender, each year. this varies according to the species. you are trying to compare to completely different things linked only by the fact that in both, shooting an animal is required. have you actualy been hunting in south africa?
I just watched “Louis Theroux’s African Hunting Holiday”, I realized early on that Luis had a personal aversion to the realism of hunting and his distaste was overly evident. The setting was excellent, but the dialogue became extremely overly boring, sorry!! Luis you wore out the theme of the entire documentary before you even got started. Piet Warren's stand at the end, inside the barn actually echoed my own thoughts, true, this is not the hunting I knew as a young man out in the wild, stalking and then taking that critical shot. Huge difference here. I admire him for meeting a need and in doing it the way he is, well he is definitely giving back a lot more.
The argument that this helps the species is ridiculous. If it were intended to help the animals then they would breed them, and release them into the wild. However they dont do that, they raise them to be shot from a safe distance away with 0 chance of survival. That is the same as shooting a farmer's cows.
As far as the species go...First off Lions. There were 450,000 Lions in Africa 30 years ago. Today ? There are 40,000 Lions. That is a drop of 90% of the Lion population in 30 years...Clearly that species has taken a nose dive towards the abyss of extinction. And it is 100% to do with Man. Killing lions as "sport" is not curtailing their decline at all.
Rhinos ? Nearly extinct as it is right now. It takes 15 years for them to reach breeding age. Elephants are in a massive decline aswell, largely due to poaching. Cheetahs are on the brink of extinction right now, barely 10,000 of them left in the wild. They will be joined by Tigers who are also nearly extinct.
All in all, Trophy Hunting is disgusting and pointless. It is a sick hobby that sick people enjoy, and it should be banned internationally. It is not a "right" to kill a animal for its head or because you "like it".
It is as much of a right to kill a animal for sport, as it is for someone who loves murdering other people to be allowed to continue murdering people. That is, its not a right, and should not be allowed.
Imo, Trophy Hunters and Poachers should be treated to their own medicine. Caught killing a animal ? You should receive the same fate.
This is practically the only therouex documentary where I end up more in favour of what he was investigating.
They are effectively free range food. Given that people want to hunt this is really a far more ethical way to get your food.
As long as it isn't an endangered animals and you eat them then it's fine really.
Sure, I see the hunting side of this as kind of stupid, paying for the experience of an easy kill. But if you're a meat eater you can't really object to it when the animal have a painless death, live in a massive open park, and is providing the economic support to increase the numbers of he species.
I love to hunt.But the people in this doc. aren't hunting.Anyone can go into someones land and shoot a cow!
My grandparents own a game farm in the timbavati and i go hunting on a regular basis. there is far more to getting a hunting permit. in a group of animals, mostly preditors, when a male or female gets old, they are highest on the group's hierarchy, but they also don't have young any more. they kill the younger one's young which halts the population growth. by shooting the old animals (after ensuring that other younger will fill it's slot) the population is allowed to grow. also, about 20 years ago, there was a terrible drought in the timbavati and surrounding areas like the Kruger. when animals have a lack of food, they produce more young in order to ensure the survival of the species. during this drought, we found an impala, one of many animals, who had died giving birth and then her young died for the same reason that they did not have enough nutrients, water, etc. this was because there were too many animals and not enough resources. the only way to control this is to shoot some animals.
Stop asking the same question Louis!! :)
GO VEGETARIAN LOUIS THEROUX!!
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I believed from the beginning of the film that Louis had a thesis statement he was trying to prove or reinforce. "Hunting is bad". It is obvious that preconceived notions and emotions are the driving force of this expose. I did not find any of the questions Louis asked repeatedly or the staged "not taken shot" of any interest. This was clearly research intended as propaganda to support a thesis. It is of the utmost folly to research in an attempt to support a preconceived notion. Absolutely zero open mindedness was displayed and nothing intelligent was explored. Weather or not one finds the "canned hunt" industry just or unjust, this film has no bearing. Confused people with video cameras should not be allowed to have their junk data aired in a serious manner. This film is steered solely by personal bias and is of no use to anyone concerned with this issue.
Canned hunting is cruel. Hunting in general is not. If you eat meat and disagree then you are pretty much an i@#$%. Farmed animals are more like slaves than animals. Living to die. The wild ones die living. They both are a protein source. Get over yourself or be a vegan.
@Alex: In fairness, I'd hardly argue it's just Americans. It's human to hunt. It's just not humane in the 21st century, maybe.
It is a positive thing. If it is true that they save the animals from extinction and repopulate the wildlife and plant life.If they didnt your kids will only see stuffed animals in museums and in books at bed time. Keep paying Americans!
agreed
Yet another case of America and its disgusting passion for capitalism and destruction forcing other nations and cultures to turn their once proud countries, practices and in this case, wildlife, to a mere petty existence. What a disgraceful nation, well done.... well, done.
P A T H E T I C !!!!
just a heads up, loving the site, my man. But sound's out of sync on the video. Keep up the good work!
I find hunting to be an intense thrill, even if I'm just going after grouse. I personally don't feel even remotely tempted to spend a lot of money to travel to Africa to hunt, and I don't think I would enjoy such a tame experience as what was depicted in this documentary, but I really take exception to the assumption that all hunters are rednecks who are trying to prop up their self-esteem.
When I kill an animal, I'm not thinking "take that you stupid animal, look who's more powerful now". In order to do that, I would have to think of the animal as a person, rather than a resource. I enjoy not only the stalking of the animal, but also harvesting it's body after the kill, and making use of all parts of it. Tanning the hide, smoking the meat, making tools out of the bones... these things give me a deep sense of satisfaction and connection to the Earth.
The 'fishing in a barrel' method of hunting that was shown was something I was not aware of. I agree with the 'like tennis without a net' analogy. The animal is right in front of you, there is no skill to it... as shown by the first time first kill huntress wife. They think they are sportsmen... What a laugh!
I also wanted to mention the game farmer. I did not like him at all at first and thought he was shoddy. However, The interaction toward the end of the film in the barn was thought provoking. The farmer was true... It is a totally different culture there, where animals are not really seen as precious... but another tool to get people through their lives.
I love all Louis Docco's. This was no exception :)
Hunting will always have a bad name no matter what for me. Unless your starving I find hunting disgusting. I don't care if you "enjoy" it. I don't care if it's just you I bow and nature, if it's not for survival it is a disgrace.
bunch of losers that give hunting a bad name
Ya, this is not really hunting when you are just waiting on a enclosed reserve for animals to come to the only water hole on the whole darn thing. Thats like throwing a hook with a worm in a bucket of fish and calling it fishing.
The premise of these guys claims are right. Either animals like elephants, rhinos and lions will be made profitable or go extinct. An elephant will come in the night and eat your entire crop for a year and put you on the edge of bankruptcy. Lions will eat you alive and most these animals serve as giant pest if no money can be made off them. If people did not eat honey, no one would care about bees and we would probably exterminate them like wasp
Louis is hilarious! I bet he got his ass kicked a lot when he was younger though. You can see it-annoying kid, hasn't figured out how to manage the sarcasm yet, spouts off to the big kid and gets his yellow british teeth knocked in. Glad he has managed to work the personality to his advantage.
Just red neck bull****. like what Ben said this is not “hunting”this is “shooting” good point Ben , I see no enjoyment in this activity, extremely pointless, but there are lot of pratts in the world with big heads and this must be away for these big heads to relax . to feel power in killing. Why don't they just bolt the animal up against a post and shoot it ... ow wait thats what they are doing ....
You said it luv, peer pressure and you bowed down to it, even though your heart was not in it, the men are buffoons.
I like to hunt. I have hunted in Africa many times. I never hunted like this or saw anyone hunt like this. Especially the "canned" lion hunts. These are even "outlawed" by the Safari Club here in America. I know bow hunting from a blind is differnet but I have never seen anyone shoot and animal over "bait, or a feeding station, that is food put out for it and then you just set there and shoot it.Actually, I thought that was illegal.Anyway, this is not typical,very very few hunters that go to Africa hunt like this. And no way is it that easy, this is not "hunting"this is "shooting"
I am an avid hunter and fisherman. That being said, I find trophy hunting appalling. Any animal I hunt is coming home for the dinner table. I have a great respect for the animals I hunt. I guess it goes back to my father telling me "if you take the life of an animal you had damn well better eat it". I don't hunt for horns, I don't have my meat processed by a butcher. I take more pride in someone telling me "good dinner" than I ever would someone saying "nice rack". I take whatever game management advises for the best of the animal. If you take pride in shooting a caged animal (fenced in) I personally think you have mental issues. Even worse mental issues if the only reason you want it is to hang on the wall.
What a totally disgusting activity. Another nail in the coffin of "our" sick society. I`d happily throw these tossers to the lions.
A good documentary that gives insights on hunting. There is nothing wrong to hunt if it is for survival and the meat is not wasted. But this documentary seems outrages that people would pay to go to South Africa to hunt for their "bloody passion". These hunters seems to have their hearts set on killing for the sake of selfish indulgence which is to enjoy the experience of hunting and to boost their inflated egos. What stops them from hunting larger game is money. So I guess their fun is limited to the almighty dollar! As for the farmers who enable this hobby, they seem to give excuses as to why they are in this business. It all boils down to money and there is lots of ways to preserve wild life than to set up a breeding and hunting lodge! I conclude that this is a mobid hobby of pride which would be frown upon even by God. Yay for Louis Theroux he did not kill the wild boar! Huray!!!
The people from Cleveland are kidding themselves, this is fake hunting. Even the little girl did it successfully.
That ending was really surprising. It is a good point that if you cant make money out of something, it's bound to disappear.
The interviewer soooooooooooo bummed those guys out. This was an interesting video.