What's Wrong with Hunting?
A Hunter's Experience
Last Summer in July 2015 I had the chance to visit La Pampa, Argentina. As part of my Personal Project I met a family friend Eber Gomez Berrade who is the first Argentinian hunter who obtained an international hunting license to take people to big game hunting in Africa. Together we spent a week in "El Chillen", a well known hunting ranch in Argentina. Eber is a close friend of the owners of the land and kindly allowed us to stay in their place and experience first hand a life of a hunter.
Left: Jorge, Middle: Alejandro, Right: Eber Gomez
During the stay I had the opportunity to talk to them about their life and experiences. I was woken by the typical Argentinian flavours: Mate and bread with jam. After breakfast I accompanied Jorge, the owner and together with Eber we patroled around the perimeter to see if the animals were safe and in good shape. Eber and I have the opportunity to have a pleasant ride with their beautiful horses and enjoyed the landscapes and the natural beauty of La Pampa.
During this time I asked Eber about his hunting career and explored the motivations that influenced his professional choices. He told me that he discovered hunting when he was 17 years old, inspired by his love for adventure and nature. As a professional hunter Eber has a clear point of view on this activity. He explained that most hunters feel mixed emotions such as sadness and satisfaction when they kill an animal. He mentioned that following the rules is the right way to act. He believes that poaching is a criminal offense and goes against nature and animals rights.
Source: http://cotoelchillen.com/galeria.html
During my interview I asked Eber what arguments would he give to those who say all hunting should be banned. His response was very clear and professional. He said: "The people who favour a ban on hunting usually are driven by emotional aspects. They are often urban type persons, with small exposure to the nature. Hunting these days, is no longer the primary tool to get neither meat, nor a training for the knights as used to be in the Middle Ages, and definitively not a sport for wealthy people as used to be in the beginning of the safari business in Africa. In modern times, hunting is the most relevant tool for wildlife conservation in the whole world. This is so because, governments and private sector gives an economical value to the animals... It represents an economical income for the country itself, and for the local communities who lives far away from the urban centres..." (Eber Gomez Berrade, interview on skype 14/12/2015)
When asked about rules on hunting he replied "Each country (almost 80% of the nations of the world accept legal hunting on its territories) has its own legislation. Then, each states or provinces of those countries have also a particular legal frame of conduct. Besides, all those nations are controlled and supervised by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species), which is a sort of UN for wildlife affairs." (Eber Gomez Berrade, interview on skype 14/12/2015)
I was curious to know if wounding an animal was common within hunters and he explained that wounding an animal is not uncommon especially for less skilled hunters in both, shooting and shot placement. He told me that if the hunter is dealing with threatenig species, the situation can be turned into very dangerous, risking the human life as well. He higlighted the huge responsiblility for each individual hunter to continually improve their skills.
My last question was if he thinks that hunting is an unfair fight against the animal. He then explained that if the hunt is conducted according to the laws and the ethics it is never unfair. However, if somebody breaks some of those rules, it will not only be unfair but also illegal and completly unethical.
I want to personaly thank Eber Gomez Berrade for his insightful information and friendship.
Eber Gomez Berrade
Executive Safari Consultant
http://www.executive-safari.com/
Coto de caza El Chillen
La Pampa, Argentina
