Closing the subject
Guys, all this animosity and for what? What did any of this achieve and how did any of this help those interested in going hunting in Africa?
I joined this website because a guy that had contacted me directly regarding leopard hunting decided to do a bloke a favour and post my email up on this board. He did that without me knowing and sent me a link to it once he had done it. I joined the board because when I looked at the replys he had received to his post, it seemed that he was being critisised for my message to him - so I joined and tried to put that right, defending Mack and his integrity at the same time as trying to do likewise for mine.
Reading back through the comments and having taken legal advise, here's how my Solicitor and I feel about it. If a respected member of an established bulletin board such as this makes open comments which appear to undermine and cast doubt upon the business endeavours of another, and does so publicly, then on the balance of probability, damage injury or loss will be realised by that individual, and that is what I fear has happened here.
I represent an extended area in a far-off foreign country and do so with transparency and integrity, hell, I even said I'd come over with any hunters from here, but that's by the by, bottom line is that I feel that my business and my personal reputation has been smeared on this forum and it seems that I'm not the only person that feels that way - that 'balance of probability' is an interesting phrase don't you think?
I don't need it, and frankly, I don't think that Namibia needs it, or any of the Southern African countries. Visitors to Africa find out first-hand how different the place is in terms of everything, and yes, life is cheap in many countries. I do think that it is universally recognised that Namibia has some of the finest, unspoilt conservation area's and is more stable and safer than most anywhere else on that continent. Taking firearms to Namibia is really easy and we have fabulous facilities, great game and so on - it's my personal paradise!
What I don't need, and what I feel hunting, and I'll include deer stalking with that, what we don't need is in-fighting amongst ourselves, regardless of any of our personal agendas. If we all start to tear each other apart like this over hunting and deer stalking, then the anti's will have a field day and guess what, deer stalking will be next to be under threat. I don't want that for my business or for my hobby and I doubt that Namibia needs it either - curiously though, I don't get any of this from my Eastern European clients, or from my North American clients either - only here, and that's why IMHO we are destined to loose any kind of hunting in this country within my lifetime - because everyone has an opinion, regardless of how it was developed and we take delight in rubbishing those that don't happen to share our opinions views and experiences.
Guys, I'm a simple bloke that loves to hunt and shoot. That's pretty straight forwards I feel. A member here was kind enough to try and do me a favour by promoting some problem animals for me on this site and was rubbished for it, I joined to back him up and clarify the situation and just look at the thread that has developed here as a result - again, is this showing me or my business in a positive light? No.
Finally, and I wanted to get this off my chest beforehand, I wanted to reply to the comment from PeteL about Hyaena's charging when he asked "I've never heard of Hyena charging on being shot, have you?."
Let me just finish on this as I feel that enough of the brown stuff has been thrown in our direction. Charging animals - well, what makes an animal charge then? Wounding it will do it in the case of Lion and Buffalo but that's not what anyone here would deliberately set out to do is it? Maybe surprising an unsuspecting animal would elicit the same response too, or getting between a mother and it's young, but what kind of PH would allow a hunter to do this? Leopard is a different thing again, always in a bad mood and very agressive, and elephant, well, you wouldn't believe how fast they are in real life, but how many of us can afford £12000 to shoot an elephant? Not that many I'd wager and again, any decent PH would look to protect their guests from such an occourance by making sure they are not exposed to the potential in the first place.
So, while we've all read the books on the 'good old days' of Ivory Hunting and so on, do any of us really want to go into the unknown with a PH that would knowingly or otherwise expose us to this kind of very real danger and furthermore, does anyone honestly go out hunting with the intention of deliberately wounding something in order to experience a charge?
Seems I'm in the wrong place guys, because if this is what you are looking for from a Hunting Outfitter or Hunting Agent - I'm sorry, but we can't help - this isn't something we offer, endorse or approve of.
However, if you fancy a chat about what it's really like, or just want to pick the brains of someone that's been there and done it, that's fine and I'll be delighted to hear from you. I travel around a fair bit too, so if you'd like that conversation over a beer / coffee, that's good too, and I'll be at the CLA fair at Blenheim tomorrow if that helps. I'm not a bad bloke, fairly approachable and will be glad to meet you, so if you see me, feel free to come and say Hi, I'd really like that. In addition, we have a website - it's here
The Hunting Agency and it's got photos and tips on what to expect and how to prepare yourself, feel free to take a look, and if you have any questions, just shout!
That's all I have to say here, sorry to have ruffled some feathers and thank you to those of you that have sent me PM's too, it's much appreciated!
