Some leopards don’t change their spots
Some readers of the AHG monthly seem to be unaware of the danger of wasting precious time and money on buying dodgy hunts. And yet another email “promo” from a well-known bargain-basement booking agent arrived in my computer this week.
I feel it is necessary to repeat my concerns about the reality when such a deal is offered.
This promo was from the same chap who, when Botswana opened elephant hunting, was offering discount elephant hunts to foreigners that were citizen hunts, which was illegal. I brought it to his attention to save him from the danger of what lay ahead. He then switched to selling cheap elephants in Zimbabwe, exclaiming what a great deal this now was. Fast forward a little and his ‘connected-to-the-President’s outfitter’ fell apart, deposits needed refunding. He then switched back to selling Botswana elephants, this time legally, now publicly berating Zimbabwe as some dodgy place to operate. This is despite the record of Zimbabwe’s hunting, and without him admitting to using the wrong ‘outfitter’ there. In the early days, when I was helping (like the things I mentioned about Botswana), he was advocating Afton as THE place to stay. Now he says the opposite and supports an alternate lodge.
In this week’s promo, he’s selling “All In” leopard safaris at prices that are eye-wateringly cheap, (word used advisedly).
Just last week, a hunter spent the day at Afton after an unsuccessful Namibian leopard hunt. The hunt was arranged by his South African PH/outfitter, and he proudly told me that despite spending half the time sitting through the night in a blind and the other half hunting with the aid of dogs, he had no luck. They found one animal, but the hunter was unsuccessful.
Leopard, in my humble opinion, should never be guaranteed, but rather sold on a daily rate and trophy fee basis – respecting the nature of such a safari. In this hunter’s instance, the outfitter has the cash, thank you, the hunter’s disappointed, but completely unaware that hunting at night in Namibia for half his safari, and with dogs for the other half is illegal.
So, this advert below – from the bargain-basement booking agent talking about hunting over the new moon as the best time to hunt this leopard – prompted my message. Hey, I might be totally wrong, and perhaps it has nothing to with hunting at night. Who knows. But given the source, if I were a betting man, I know what I’d do.
