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Texas hunter shoots endangered Namibian rhino for $350,000
Windhoek (AFP) - A US hunter who paid $350,000 to kill a black rhinoceros in Namibia successfully shot the animal on Monday, saying that his actions would help protect the critically-endangered species.
Corey Knowlton, from Texas, downed the rhino with a high-powered rifle after a three-day hunt through the bush with government officials on hand to ensure he killed the correct animal.
Knowlton, 36, won the right to shoot the rhino at an auction in Dallas in early 2014 -- attracting fierce criticism from many conservationists and even some death threats.
He took a CNN camera crew on the hunt to try to show why he believed the killing was justified.
"The whole world knows about this hunt and I think it's extremely important that people know it's going down the right way, in the most scientific way that it can possibly happen," Knowlton told the TV channel in footage released Wednesday.
"I think people have a problem just with the fact that I like to hunt... I want to see the black rhino as abundant as it can be. I believe in the survival of the species."
Since 2012, Namibia has sold five licences each year to kill individual rhinos, saying the money is essential to fund conservation projects and anti-poaching protection.
The only rhinos selected for the hunts are old ones that no longer breed and that pose a threat to younger rhinos.
The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says there were about 850,000 black rhinos alive through much of the last century before hunting left only about 2,400 in 1995, but numbers have since edged up to about 5,000.
"These are incredibly majestic creatures, and their worth alive is far greater than (when) they are dead," said Azzedine Downes, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW), one of the conservation groups opposed to the hunt.
Both black rhinos and the more common white rhino have recently suffered from soaring poaching in South Africa's Kruger Park where hundreds are killed each year for their horns which are used in traditional Asian medicine.
The exact location of Knowlton's hunt was kept secret to avoid tipping off poachers.
Television footage showed Knowlton accompanied by a professional hunter and local trackers as they tried to find a rhino that was approved for killing.
His first shots injured the animal before he fired the fatal bullets.
"I felt like from day one it was something benefiting the black rhino," Knowlton said just after the hunt ended, his voice croaking with emotion.
"Being on this hunt, with the amount of criticism it brought and the amount of praise it brought from both sides, I don't think it could have brought more awareness to the black rhino."
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If the hunter wants to pay the rate, good for him. I don't see the amount of money paid a problem, do you?
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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I don't know that it matters what one thinks of what another chooses to do with his/her money.
Conduct is the best proof of character.
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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Contrary to all the whining by the antis, that guy just did more for Rhino conservation than all of them put together have ever done.
"...the left considers you vermin, and they'll kill you given the chance..." Bristoe
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Campfire Regular
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Contrary to all the whining by the antis, that guy just did more for Rhino conservation than all of them put together have ever done. This!!!!
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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All of the people who oppose the hunt should direct their efforts at ending the poaching instead of protesting against a legitimate, regulated hunt.
Not a real member - just an ordinary guy who appreciates being able to hang around and say something once in awhile.
Happily Trapped In the Past (Thanks, Joe)
Not only a less than minimally educated person, but stupid and out of touch as well.
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Campfire Kahuna
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Campfire Kahuna
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One of the essentials the antis ignore (or are willfully ignorant about, which may be the same thing) is bull rhinos legally killed by hunters are old enough not to last much longer anyway. They can generate hundreds of thousands of dollars for anti-poaching funds to protect rhinos, or not. Apparently the nitwits prefer not.
“Montana seems to me to be what a small boy would think Texas is like from hearing Texans.” John Steinbeck
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Campfire Member
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Damn!
Inflation sure has hit hard since the Mau Mau.
The Tea Party Movement is pretty much the same as a bowel movement except that it smells worse and has far less in the way of intelligent content. --DancesWithGuns
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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I don't know that it matters what one thinks of what another chooses to do with his/her money. You couldn't have said it any better.
Hunt with Class and Classics
Religion: A founder of The Church of Spray and Pray
Acquit v. t. To render a judgment in a murder case in San Francisco... EQUAL, adj. As bad as something else. Ambrose Bierce “The Devil's Dictionary”
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I don't know that it matters what one thinks of what another chooses to do with his/her money. You couldn't have said it any better. I agree with you both wholeheartedly!
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Contrary to all the whining by the antis, that guy just did more for Rhino conservation than all of them put together have ever done. This!!!! I think so.
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The guy allowed CNN to document the hunt. Several video's and a write up here. http://www.cnn.com/search/?text=rhino+hunter
Most people don't really want the truth.
They just want constant reassurance that what they believe is the truth.
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Campfire Member
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It is also my understanding that this particular black rhino was targeted, by Govt. authorities, because it has previously killed other black rhinos!!!! This one was one of 4 that has killed other black rhinos over territorial issues. I see now that that twit Ricky Gervais has now started to "target hunters" because of this.....just who in the hell is Ricky Gervais, anyway? Some un-funny third rate comedian who has to do something to get his name in the lime light.....
If the antis really gave a damn about these animals (or any other animal) they would quit trying to equate hunters as poachers and focus on issues such as habitat destruction, poaching, etc. But it's much easier to sit there on their fat asses with no sense of what everything is about and criticize those who do understand that hunters pay for conservation, and you cannot "preserve" an ecological system....nature will not allow it.
idiots are from the shallow end of the gene pool!
"If you dog thinks you're the greatest, don't go seeking a second opinion!"
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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Does anyone know what chambering was used to whack the rhino?
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Campfire Ranger
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Campfire Ranger
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The guy on the right is the hunter with his rifle. Looks uber. The write up author reports 4 shots, which would indicate both shots by the hunter and 2 more from PH/handlers.
Last edited by RWE; 05/20/15.
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Campfire Oracle
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Campfire Oracle
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Congrats to the hunter.
Life Member SCI Life Member DSC Member New Mexico Shooting Sports Association
Take your responsibilities seriously, never yourself-Ken Howell Proper bullet placement + sufficient penetration = quick, clean kill. Finn Aagard
Ken
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Campfire 'Bwana
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Damn!
Inflation sure has hit hard since the Mau Mau. FOAD, asswipe,
A good principle to guide me through life: “This is all I have come to expect, standard lackluster performance. Trust nothing, believe no one and realize it will only get worse…”
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Campfire Regular
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Does anyone know what chambering was used to whack the rhino? I believe it was a 500 NE
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"The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) says there were about 850,000 black rhinos alive through much of the last century before hunting poaching left only about 2,400 in 1995, but numbers have since edged up to about 5,000."
It's a shame the original article had this error and it wasn't corrected.
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