African Outfitter is an independent international bimonthly publication promoting
fair hunting and ethical business practices within the hunting industry.
From a hunting perspective, the preservation of biodiversity on the
African continent is the first and foremost priority. The emphasis
is however also on the sustainable utilisation of wildlife.
The Leopard / Dog hunting debate - Carl Labuschagne
It was with much interest that I read the article "Leopard Hunting perspective" in the April/May issue, Volume 2/3 of African Outfitter.
I have often wondered about the following scenario and our perceptions regarding this.
The watcher of this horrific episode wil become emotional with delirious awe and explain how these magnificent and beautiful "painted wolves of the African Savannah" are the most successful hunters of the veldt. Next, he will tell you how this poor specie is hanging by a second-hand shoestring over the gaping abyss of extinction! Then, he/she will tell you the kudu felt NO PAIN as the animal was in a state of mindless tranquillity due to shock! This will be said to have been clinically and scientifically proven, as catching a fish with a barbed hook in its mouth has also been proven to painless!
Garlic and beetroot cure aids and taking a shower will wash off the aids virus, or so it is propagated by certain individuals in South Africa! What utter rubbish will people still dish up as a scientific fact?
Now show this same person a video on a leopard hunt accompanied with hounds, where a male leopard's tracks are found. The hounds track it and bring it to bay where it is killed by a well-placed shot. This person will, with shrieks of horror, pull tufts of hair from his/her scalp and hold his/her stomach in cramps of diarrhoea.
Should not all wild dogs be kept in captivity and only fed with grain-fed organic domestic livestock, slaughtered by an SPCA-approved abattoir? Why should this disgusting, cruel killing frenzy be allowed to continue on a daily basis if people get so indignant over hounds chasing a leopard or foxes?
PHASA, some hunting organizations and nature conservation bodies have ruled that hunting leopard with dogs is unethical and positively sinful. Yet, they have pronounced and given their unreserved blessing on hunting birds with dogs. It is clear that birds are deemed lesser creatures and can therefore be subjected to the indignity of being found, tracked by dogs and kept at bay till the shooter catches up and is ready to shoot.
Let's look at an average bird shoot with dogs. The hunter enters the field and sends his dog(s) off with a command, "Seek boys!" These dogs will run over a large area in a criss-cross fashion till a bird covey is located while the shooter strolls along. Once the dogs are on point, he will approach to within five or six meters from the dog standing motionless, pointing with his nose to the birds hiding in the grass.
The shooter now takes his shotgun off safety and shoulders the gun and points it to where the birds will alight from in front of the pointing dog's nose. He will now say, "Flush!" and the dog will put the birds to flight. Whatever bird emerges, as long it's of the right specie, whether male or female, or just a few months old, will be shot. Now, a dedicated hunter will not stoop to going and searching for the downed bird or birds in the long grass. He will tell the dogs, "Fetch!" and the dogs will run and retrieve the bird and bring it back and place it in the shooter's hand.
Is this now an ethical experience where the bird is treated with dignity and in the concept of fair chase? I am not against bird hunting with dogs. In fact, I am a keen bird hunter, but please gentleman, let us not be ridiculous!
Selective morality in life and even selective ethics in hunting is a repugnant exercise, which I reject with utter contempt.
I cannot wait for someone to write a book entitled, "The Four Hundred and Sixty Rules of Ethical Hunting". Whosoever writes this book is going to be pulled apart limb by limb and then have his sundry parts nailed to a stake! Could this writer then please draw up a list of all the huntable species and award each one points so we all can see which ones need to be treated with more respect, dignity and ethical practices than the rest?
PHASA and other organizations as mentioned show by it's stance on hounds, leopards and birds that it's all about public opinion and the criticism that it would bring on itself if they approve of leopard, bush pig or jack-rabbit hunting with dogs. It has nothing to do with ethics – period! If their decision is purely based on ethics and logic, then the following would apply:
PHASA et al approves of hunting leopard by placing a bait in a cat's normal hunting territory and shot from a blind 40–60 meters away from an armchair when the hungry cat comes to feed. Why then can a bird hunter not make a feeding place for game bird (they are lesser creatures than a pretty leopard) then build a blind close by and shoot the birds on the ground with a shotgun when they come to feed?
Let's be constant in our approach to what is acceptable or shall we always have too look at the points system for a particular specie?
Another example is the following:
A lot of hunters feel that hunting bush pigs with dogs is not unethical. Bush pigs are deemed to be nocturnal crop raiders. Most people don't have an emotional attachment with them as with leopards. Anyway, they are 'ugly' animals, usually dirty and stink!
Now, my question is: If I can find a livestock-raiding leopard that is ugly and dirty and also stinks, would it be alright to hunt such an individual with hounds? Let us be constant and not selective when we rule on what is acceptable and not.
The leopard / dog debate is nothing but an emotionally driven, public opinion thing. To try to bring ethics into it would only result in bringing the whole ethics concept into question.
If ethical hunting rules are subject to public opinion only, I will distance myself from it altogether.
I have never hunted leopards with dogs, neither have I pursued foxes with cries of, "Tally-ho!" – but that's neither here nor there.
Photographs: Roy Sparks
