I think JJHack laid out the situation very well. I haven't been hunting in Africa, but I've read about it and hope to go one day. I'm not sure if I will be bringing back trophies due to the cost, so that may have some bearing on my attitude about whether I would hunt non-indigenous game there.
I agree that people should be aware of what's what as JJHack laid out. I'll also say that there is sometimes a fine line between highlighting the advantages of your own business compared to another vs. running down the competition. I don't think denigrating the competition is the way to go, but informing/educating the consumer should be viewed as a good thing as long as that educating is being done tactfully and politely.
Here is something I posted on this forum a couple years ago (2012) when the issue came up then:
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I think a good North America analogy to JJHack's issue about native vs. introduced species would be with introduced turkey populations.
According to a book I was reading recently ("After the Hunt" by Lovett E. Williams, Jr.), Rio Grande turkeys are native to only Texas and Oklahoma. The states of California, Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Utah, and Hawaii did not have any native turkey populations at all, but now you can hunt Rio Grande turkeys in all those states.
Is hunting Rio Grande turkeys still a turkey hunt in those states where there were no native turkeys? Yes.
Can someone have a great hunting experience hunting turkeys in those states that didn't have native turkeys? Yes.
Is it the same as hunting Rio Grande turkeys in Texas or Oklahoma? Could be a similar experience in places with similar habitat, but it wouldn't be exactly the same as hunting in Texas or Oklahoma.
Can a Rio Grande taken in a state besides Texas or Oklahoma count as part of a turkey Grand Slam? I'm not sure if there are any official rules on that issue for the NWTF Grand Slam list, but I'm guessing the decision is up to the individual. I'm sure some people would say that a Rio Grande has to be taken in either Texas or Oklahoma for them to consider it part of a Grand Slam.
In CA, OR, WA, ID, or UT you could bag half of your turkey Grand Slam in one state even though the state didn't have any native turkeys. I don't think getting half your Grand Slam in a state that didn't have any native turkeys is the same as getting your Rio Grande turkey in TX or OK and getting your Merriam's in New Mexico, Arizona, or Colorado. It would still be a feat to take two different species in CA, OR, WA, ID, and UT, but getting a Rio in one of those states wouldn't seem the same to me as getting a Rio in TX or OK, especially if I was having to travel a considerable distance at considerable cost for the hunt.
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back to 2014 comments:
I'll add that I think it is great that people living in Hawaii can hunt wild turkeys, but I've been to a couple of the Hawaiian Islands, and Maui and Oahu didn't remind me the least bit of the Rio Grande's native habitat in Texas and Oklahoma, not even the dry side of Maui (while there I drove all the way around Maui and up to the highest peak of Maui so I saw pretty much the whole island). To be honest, I'm not sure which islands of Hawaii have wild turkeys, but I've never seen any photos of anywhere in Hawaii that reminded me of Texas or Oklahoma. Personally, I wouldn't travel to Hawaii to hunt Rio Grande turkeys, but I'm fine with other people hunting them there as long as they aren't being misled by an outfitter. At the same time, if I go to Maui again, I might take up a local gentleman on an offer to set up a hunt for some of the game there, just to experience something different.
