Trophy hunter laughs during buffalo hunt
A disturbing video shows how a trophy recreational hunter wounded and ultimately killed two Cape buffalo in May 2021 at Woodlands Safari Estate in South Africa.
A disturbing video shows how a trophy recreational hunter wounded and ultimately killed two Cape buffalo in May 2021 at Woodlands Safari Estate in South Africa.
$32,000 for two dead buffalo
Footage recorded by hunting outfitter John X Safaris shows the buffalo writhing and stumbling in agony before dying slowly. The recreational hunter claims to have intentionally killed both wild animals despite having obtained permission to kill only one animal.
In the video, the guide shouts “No!” as the recreational hunter appears to shoot the wrong buffalo. The recreational hunter then dismisses his guide's concerns and says: “I think I paid $32,000 — I took them both.»
South Africa must ban trophy hunting
The International Union for Conservation of Nature lists the Cape buffalo as a near-threatened species with declining population numbers. Cape buffalo are complex animals that communicate through vocalizations, establish social hierarchies, and even “vote” on herd movements.
Trophy hunting is a vast and dirty business in the country. PETA's most recent undercover exposé in South Africa revealed the connections of President Cyril Ramaphosa to the trophy hunting industry, including owning a 50% stake in a hunting company.
More on the subject of recreational hunting: In our dossiers on the criticism of recreational hunting gather fact-checks, analyses and background reports. What the research says about this is shown by Hunting fact-checked: the state of research.
The position of IG Wild beim Wild: IG Wild beim Wild rejects recreational hunting. Our model is the canton of Geneva, which has managed without recreational hunting since 1974: without hunting seasons, without hunting dogs, without driven hunts, without high seats, without the animal cruelty and crime that go hand in hand with hunting season elsewhere. What has worked there for over fifty years disproves every position paper by JagdSchweiz. An association that bases its policy on claims it refutes in its own documents is not a professional organisation, but a factory for misinformation.
