Can hunting endangered animals save the species?

Feral: They're breeding these antelopes, they're selling the antelopes, and they're killing the antelopes. And they're calling it conserving them. They are saying it's an act of conservation and that's lunacy.

Logan: You would rather they did not exist in Texas at all?

Feral: I don't want to see them on hunting ranches. I don't want to see them dismembered. I don't want to see their value in body parts. I think it's obscene. I don't think you create a life to shoot it.

Logan: So, if the animals exist only to be hunted...

Feral: Right...

Logan: ...you would rather they not exist at all?

Feral: Not in Texas, no.

Seale: Our biggest enemy are the animal rights people. They don't understand what we do.

Logan: What's to understand, I mean, you're hunters? You hunt these exotic animals. That's pretty simple.

Seale: It is, but there are a faction of people out there that would just as soon see these animals go extinct as to have us use them for sp- to hunt and after all, that is the bottom line. That's what these animals are all about. That's why they are here in the numbers that they're here today.

[David Bamberger: You're at the first place that this, this is where it all began.]

83-year-old Texan David Bamberger has spent more than 30 years fighting to save one of these antelope, the scimitar horned oryx, from extinction. He brought us to where it all began, in this small pasture which he calls the Sahara on his 5,500 acre ranch.

Bamberger: Here they go!

Logan: Look at that, they're beautiful. Oh, look at the babies in the front.

You almost have to remind yourself that this is not Africa. It's Johnson City, Texas. This beautiful animal has horns that can grow as long as four feet and resemble the curved blade of a scimitar. It's believed by some to have inspired the myth of the unicorn.

Bamberger: They tell me it's the only African antelope known to be able to kill a lion.

They vanished decades ago from the deserts of Egypt, Senegal, Chad - all the places where they first walked the Earth more than two million years ago.

Bamberger: They wouldn't be here and alive if we hadn't taken some action 30 years ago.

In the late 1970s, Bamberger offered to devote more than 600 acres of his property to save an endangered animal at his own expense. American zoos sent him nearly all of the remaining known genetic stock of scimitar horned oryx in the world and from that he raised hundreds of animals. He's since sent some to African reserves for eventual reintroduction into the wild, but he believes the best hope to sustain the species today lies on the Texas range.

Bamberger: I've got ranchers that I started them out on with half a dozen animals that got 200 now.

Logan: But if you're a conservationist, and you've given up your land, you've given up thousands, millions of dollars to save this species. Yet you're not against hunting them?

Bamberger: Well, I wouldn't do it here. I'm not fond of it at all, but I'm wise enough, smart enough to know if there's no incentive, if altruism is the only incentive you're not gonna get a great deal of participation on someone whose livelihood depends on bringing in dollars.

[Logan: You'd think you were in Africa, look at the giraffe sitting there]

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[travis123abc]

In Brazil they are actually cloning endangered species, Here is one of the downsides of the Endangered Species Act
http://ponderingstuff.com/2012/08/23/endangeredspecies/

[13inches]

meeska my dear: Humans and human ancestors have eaten meat for over 300,000 years. Bonobo Chimps are the closest living relatives to humans and Bonobo Chimps eat MEAT. It is natural and normal for humans to eat MEAT. If all you limp-wristed vegetarians want to sit around and just eat tofu all day, then go ahead and do so, but STOP bad-mouthing big game hunters. The top animal conservationists in the world have stated the big game ranches in Texas are HELPING increase the populations of endangered and threatened big game species. I am an animal lover. I do not hunt. But facts are FACTS. Priscilla Feral and her clown posse management team at Friends of Animals are HURTING the future of rare endangered Big Game animals. Priscilla Feral is an idiot and the only animal she is protecting is herself and her paycheck. I have stopped donating money to Friends of Animals and I encourage all other REAL animal lovers to stop donating money to FOA. FOA doesn't care about the welfare of animals, they only care about promoting their silly Vegetarian Religion and keeping themselves employed.

[petersenonmain]

Farel is nothing but a bunny hugger. In the 1970s Kenya outlawed hunting, within 15 years most of the big game was gone and the elephant did not last that long. If there is no insentive to protect the anamals they will be gone.
these people like Farel have been watching to much Bamby and have no idea how the real world works shes is probablely a member of PETA in other words dummer thena box of rocks.

[meeska]

We are a twisted society, that we think it is ok -- right, even virtuous -- to spend $50,000 to kill because it will help businesses to succeed that promote killing. And we're not talking about killing because your family is starving and you can't get food any other way. We're talking about massaging the egos of people with a whole whack of money. And isn't THAT just so sad that these people ENJOY killing.

Why is it that the only answer to preserving endangered species is to kill them? And PLEASE! Let's clarify. This is not hunting; and killing is not a sport. As for comparing killing these animals to killing animals for food, let's also clarify the misconceptions about THAT. We do not -- repeat NOT -- need to eat animals to survive. In fact, hundreds and hundreds of studies over many many years have proven that a meat based diet is bad for your health and really bad for the environment. We eat animals because either we don't know any better or because we like the taste (and often both). Ignorance is not bliss, either in killing to eat or killing to boost the fragile egos of 'hunters'. Their money could be better spent "buying" one of these animals -- like a sponsorship. The businesses could promote photo safaris -- part of the new growth of ecotourism. If the "canned hunt" ranches can't stay in business by evolving, turn over your stock to someone who can and get out of ranching. There is nothing sacrosanct about being a rancher. You don't have my sympathy because you can only support your property by promoting killing.

It's no wonder Americans are the laughingstock of the world.

[PracticalAmerican]

Meeksa - do you want the animals to go extinct? In this situation, you've failed to see the whole reason for the film. There is some irony here! The irony is that in order to save them, we have to allow hunting!!! WHY??? Because nobody gives a damn about these animals except hunters. Do you??? Surely you don't send them money? Do you knit them sweaters? Do you send them Christmas cards? If you don't, it does not matter. For as much as you want to wail in the wind, the only thing that helps them is an economic incentive...so either knit sweaters and sell them and give the money to a preserve, or send money in your Christmas cards, OR... wait for it...shut your cake hole!

[bowfishr1]

Bottom line is these ranchs are a business just like any other. You have to make money to maintain, grow, and stay in business. So unless some other entity is going to pay for the care of these endangered animals then i guess we will let them go extinct. When that happens im sure Ms. Ferel and here organization will blame it on the Texas ranchers and hunters who have brought them back from extintion, not any animal rights group who have sentenced them to a picture in a book.

[Artismo]

Hunting aside, how do you people think meat gets to your grocery store? They are raised, slaughtered and butchered. What happens to these beautiful animals in the wild? They are hunted by big cats and African bushmen and poachers. They suffer injury stavation and disease like any living creature. Life is hard for every living thing in this world.

These ranches do an outstanding service for the animals, themselves, and their communities at large. Ms. Ferel and her allies are no friends of animals - her 126 oryx' in Africa are just fodder for poachers. And you crybabies who lament the animals' "suffering" really need to educate yourselves on the basic matters of life and survival, and then make a real concerted effort to grow up.

[Artismo]

"Feral: The future for oryxes is Africa. It's not Texas. "

She clearly does not view man as part of the natural food chain. I'm sure the big cats of Africa make for a messy kill themselves. The facts have shown that these animals have no future in Africa. That is why the zoos cooperated with Mr. Bamberger back in the '70s. This well-meaning woman is condemning these wonderful animals to extinction, all to satisfy her mis-guided sensibilities.

[thehuntinggame]

I WONDER IF MICHAEL VICK IS A MEMBER?

[ColtJ8713]

This is probably the coolest thing ever! It should satisfy both partys, but in a imperfect world, it won't

[goffshas17]

What if the ranch was used as a place for vacationers to go to have a fun safari. Instead of shooting the animals, people would be allowed to view them for a price. It's different from a zoo because people would be able to actually go near them and view them face to face. As long there are no carnivors or other dangerous animals it could be quite an experience. If the ranchers could successfully do this or some other method, they would be real conservatationists.

[ColtJ8713]

They do.

[ColtJ8713]

They do. Watch the video.