This is an African hunting video with Limcroma Safaris, hunting lion in South Africa by Melcom Van Staden Productions.
Lion hunting is one of the most controversial topics currently in the hunting industry. Over the years lion hunting in Africa has been divided into different categories/classifications. Each presenting it's own set of challenges.
We embark on this lion hunt in South Africa, near the Kalahari, hunting on a private nature reserve that has a self sustained, introduced lion population. Hunting lion on foot with regulations stipulating no baiting, makes for a very exciting hunt. An official from nature conservation is present during the hunt, to not only oversee the entire hunt, but also to complete the necessary documentation ahead and after the hunt. The lions all have been micro chipped and the lion we hunt gets scanned and documented by the official.
Besides hunting lion, we also hunt a variety of other plains game species more common in these parts of the country. We hunt Southern Roan Antelope, which is the second largest antelope species in Africa, as well as a Hartman’s Zebra with it’s beautiful orange nose as well as the weird yet very impressive dewlap, huge ears and thin stripes. We also hunt a Red Lechwe and a Nyala bull with a pretty impressive set of horns.
The South African lion hunting industry in particular has come under severe scrutiny. Captive bred lion hunting as it was categorized, has been misinterpreted and deliberately portrayed by the media in a negative light. As with anything, this type of scenario typically unfolds after someone does something horribly wrong or against the law, or some activists start causing problems (again typically only after being exposed to someone doing something illegally or not according to what the activists see fit in their own eyes, irregardless of what the law says or how it affects other peoples lives or well being.) The bottom line here is that captive bred lion hunting had it’s place, not only in the hunting industry, but in conservation as well. If done ethically, not only did these hunts offer a new dimension to lion hunting that was sustainable, but could have also offered a great opportunity for those opposed to hunting lions, to use the massive industry to further research into the successful rehabilitation of these lions into the wild and possibly finding answers to some of the challenges faces with dwindling wild lion populations due to disease etc. Instead, the hunting community pushed the agenda of it being ethical and sustainable and the anti-hunters pushed the fact that the breeding and then hunting (in that order) was unethical and immoral. The point being, neither party tried to collaborate with the other to find common ground here, it is always the one against the other. This way, typically, nothing gets solved or when it does, it typically leaves room for things to go wrong or only satisfies one side. None the less, lion hunting in South Africa, as with the rest of Africa then got sub divided into three different categories I believe, wild, wild introduced, and captive bred.
Any regulated form of hunting combined with a healthy and sustainable breeding program to support it has multi-level benefits if done ethically. All of the hunting portrayed in this hunting video was done ethically and legally, with all the necessary documentation, licenses and permits required by law.
I truly hope that African hunting videos like these portray the hunter and the hunting community in a good light by showcasing what the hunt is all about. Melcom Van Staden Productions has been specializing in film and production work, producing hunting videos for the past decade in the African hunting industry and we’re not only passionate about film making, but also hunting and the conservation benefits thereof. This is a lion hunting video worth sharing, by hunters and non-hunters alike to showcase what an ethical South African lion hunt should be like.
©Melcom Van Staden Productions