Trophy hunters offered cut-price deals to shoot Africa’s “big five” species

Britons are being offered the opportunity to shoot elephants and lions at a bargain.

The “special offer” is a last-ditch effort to entice big-game hunters back to Africa in the aftermath of the pandemic.

Tourists from the United Kingdom and the United States were unable to fly into South Africa as a result of Covid.

For £4,500, one company, Discount African Hunts, is providing trophy hunters the opportunity to kill a male lion.

For an additional £1,500, those who accept the offer can also shoot a female. The pair usually costs around £18,000.

“You can keep and export the skin if you are from a country that allows lion imports,” the offer continues.

Elephant hunts will be reduced from roughly £38,000 to around £17,500.

One advert states: “Last-minute deal. Free-range elephant in South Africa. Up to 30 must be taken by the end of March 2022. $23,000. Book now, this deal won’t last long”.

The company offering the cut-price deals is run by John Martins from Florida. He boasts on his website he is a life-long hunter and has shot dead more than 40 different African animals.

He also claims to have killed three of Africa’s “big five” species.

When contacted by us he refused to answer questions and said: “Go speak to your government on the stupid things they are doing with wildlife.”

Mark Jones, a vet and Head of Policy at the Born Free Foundation, called trophy hunting “a cruel relic of a colonial era”.

He said: “Offering threatened wild animals to trophy hunters at a ‘discount’ to drum up business is particularly cynical.”

This article by Sean RaymentLauren Davidson was first published by The Daily Star on 12 March 2022. Lead Image: The special offers are an attempt to bring big-game hunters back to Africa after the pandemic (Image: east2west news).

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