Local Communities & Hunting

[Mark Audino]

Among multiple trips to hunt in Turkey, I was reminded just how much local communities value hunters and their wildlife. On this occasion, I was hunting Nemrut Ibex, a Bezoar hybrid, in the small mountain village of Adiyaman, the center of gravity for this subspecies. Sitting high on a perch and glassing in wicked high winds, a large herd in the valley below began moving to higher elevation. I had to hurry and did the best I could to pick out a big one. It was a make or break shot, but I let a .308 slug fly from my old Steyr SSG69 sniper rifle and the Ibex dropped at 350 meters. My elation was only surpassed by what I later experienced in the village. The Mayor welcomed me and my guiding team into his home and served food and tea. He was the father of 7 daughters (nothing must scare this guy by now!). Later that evening, over 50 villagers showed up for the ceremonial skinning of the trophy at the Mayor’s house. Teacups emerged out of nowhere like loaves & the fishes, and everyone watched, shared pleasantries, and thanked me as they sipped their tea. They were so proud of what their land had produced. They were happy for me. They were gracious beyond words. And all of that made me realize yet again that hunting runs deep in many cultures and that local communities not only depend on hunters for revenues but what they produce is their signature point of pride and honor. Pictured is my guiding team and a scene from the skinning ceremony.

 

[gillettehunter]

Sounds like an exceptional experience. Many communities derive a noticeable amount of money from hunting. Sometimes they even recognize that it is important to them. Thanks for sharing.
Bruce

 

[russ473]

That is so awesome and the same goes for hunting here in Africa... what do the anti hunters do to give back?

 

[Mark Audino]

You guys are right on all accounts. African safari teams have their unique way of welcoming hunters, celebrating hunter success, and being thankful for employment as you well know. They make safaris such a wonderful experience in life. And no matter where I hunt, the wonderful people on the ground make you think that humanity still has a chance. I recently happened to watch one of Jim Shockey's shows, Uncharted, where he is hunting Kashmir Markhor in Pakistan. It's hard to explain the rigors of some mountain hunting let alone explain the commitment the local teams make, minus all the gear so plentiful to us. That particular episode of the show is all one needs to see. And yes, what are the real contributions that anti-hunters provide to the good people on the ground? Crickets. Their money goes toward politicking and funding a war machine against us.