Louis Theroux s01e08 Episode Script

It's hard on me, man.
- Why? - I get excited.
Get the one in front of us.
Good shot.
Great shot there, kid.
Nice stuff, man.
Phew! I was in South Africa, spending time in the world of trophy hunters and safari outfitters.
Great shot, Nikki.
Here's the pig.
Right through the lungs.
clever, eh? Here's your first animal, Nikki.
Their practice of keeping wild animals fenced in on farms has made it cheaper and easier to hunt than ever before, and also proved highly controversial.
- Are you happy about your pig? - Yeah.
congratulations.
Well done, my sweet.
Give me a kiss.
Still, it attracts thousands of budget hunters every year, and I was joining them.
My journey had started a week earlier in South Africa's Limpopo Province.
Shingani Safaris is one of a new crop of outfitters.
- I'm Louis.
- Nice to meet you.
- How are you doing? - Nice to meet you too.
Its owner, Riaan Vosloo, caters to hunters from all over the world, but mostly from America.
We have clients here, Ann Marie.
And Louis.
Hi, I'm Louis.
- Nice to meet you.
- Thank you.
Nice to meet you.
When did you Where did you just come in from? - Cleveland, Ohio.
- Really? He's dressed to hunt and she's dressed to shop.
They don't have wild animals in Cleveland? - Not wild animals like this.
- Really? The wild animals in Cleveland you're not allowed to hunt.
Paul and Ann Marie Potempski were the first arrivals of a group of 22 hunters from Ohio.
Paul had come for his dream hunting holiday.
And Ann Marie was tagging along.
Ann Marie, if you're not a hunter, why are you here? - I'm here to watch him hunt.
- Yeah.
And they say that even if you're not hunting, the experience is absolutely awesome.
- Have you been hunting with Paul before? - Never.
- Never? - No.
- Why not? - He doesn't take me hunting.
I'm not very much for the outdoors.
- Really? - Really.
But these guys are saying that they think they may convert you? That's what they're thinking.
- What do you think? - I don't know.
We'll talk you through it step by step.
You just warn Paul, tell him we're going to turn you into a monster and he'll have to start skinning and tracking to pay for your trophies.
Oh, great.
Do you have a list of animals that you're after while you're here? Er, a zebra and a kudu are my big two.
And then any other, other ones as well? Oh, yeah, I'd really like to find a baboon.
- A baboon? - Yeah.
A baboon? I've never heard of someone hunting a baboon.
A lot of people want it.
Er, it's a beautiful trophy.
Really? But they are tough to get, because they are very smart.
They're very, very intelligent.
At the end of the day it's also about money.
cos he pays per trophy that he kills, it's not just about shooting.
I mean, if money were no object what would you be gunning for? If money was no object, a rhino.
- Really? - A rhino? - Yeah.
- Wow! - They just look fierce.
- Yeah.
And how much would a rhino set you back? - You could shoot - Rhinos now are very expensive, because of the demand of the rhino horn.
The Chinese people could someone come to Shingani and shoot Shoot a rhino? - If you want 20, I can get you 20.
- 20 rhino? Yeah, easy.
But it's the price.
You pay between 50 and 100,000 US for a rhino now.
You hadn't metPaul and Ann Marie before? - Never met them.
- Had you spoken to them on the phone? Yeah.
If you'd taken them down there and then you'd seen them on the range - and he'd been a pretty hopeless shot - Yeah.
what would you have done then? If you know he's a bad shot you try and keep him on the shooting range for the day.
So we can tell them - You can teach them? - We teach them.
I also have a form where they fill out their abilities - can they walk, what operations do they have, how's his eyesight? So when a guy shows up you know this guy is a 300-pounder, he can't walk, he can't climb off the truck, and you adjust to his abilities.
- But you have to talk him in.
- Would you let him go out? Oh, yeah.
Yeah.
cos you must make sure when he pulls the trigger he's on it.
A little later, I joined Ann Marie and Paul and their Shingani PH, or Professional Hunter, Willie.
My lucky hat.
We're gonna kill today.
We had travelled to a nearby game farm.
Twenty years ago, all this land was used to raise cattle, now it was game fenced and stocked with a range of trophy animals.
Paul was out for zebra, price tag £675.
Do you know where the zebras are, Willie? Have you got a place in mind? Yeah, I know in which area they like to keep, so what I'm doing is we're zigzagging through that area, see if we can find them somewhere.
- I see a tree.
- I saw the tree as well.
That's what I saw, the tree.
Look, look, look, look! Over there.
Right there.
Oh, wow! Look even you can see this one.
Yeah.
Oh, my God, there it is, there it is! My God, there's two of 'em.
Oh, my God! Oh, Jesus! I think I got him.
But there was no immediate sign of a dead zebra.
The trackers set to work.
Are you nervous? A little bit, I think.
I'm excited for Paul if he got it.
He's been waiting to get the zebra, that's what he really wants.
Could you do it? You know, I don't think so, not like that.
I mean, I wouldn't be able to take a good shot from so far away.
No, but, I mean, cos they're like horses aren't they, zebras? Right.
I don't think I could.
Damn it.
Nerves.
What did you say? Nerves.
My heart was racing, trying to breathe, I'm shaking a little bit.
There was one I was watching when they took off, and I don't know which one it was but it started to, like, zigzag.
That's why I thought I hit one.
How have you found it so far? Interesting.
Actually I find that I'm more compelled than ever Than ever I thought I would be to want to hunt.
So I don't know, maybe it's like gambling, like we were talking about you're in the casino and everyone else is doing it, so you just want to try it.
I hear it's like a major rush when you kill your first animal.
So, what about you? Do you think you would ever kill an animal here? Hmm, I don't think so.
No? I think I'd feel bad.
See, and I would feel bad if it was just killing the animal just for the sake of killing it.
The fact that they, you know, use the meat and give it to people that are in need, just like cattle, they're raised to be slaughtered for their beef, right? Here you're giving the opportunity for men and women that like to hunt, give them that adventure, and the animals are living freely, they're not caged up, and they're able to hunt, and then the meat is still used for the villages or sold to people.
- So I don't feel bad from that respect.
- Hmm.
Er, Paul, we can't get any blood.
So, er, and we've checked, Pietr is making one last sleepsweep, but I don't think you got that one.
I'm glad there's no blood.
Yeah.
Yeah.
What's the issue with leaving a wounded animal? Well, you don't want to shoot something and leave it in the bush, not dead but wounded.
- Yeah.
- Um, so I think it.
.
- In pain.
- Yeah, it's an ethical thing.
And also if it's wounded you've paid for it, right? Yeah.
Once it's wounded and we've picked up blood, then it must be paid for.
Er, then we must find it, if possible.
I was on the far side of Limpopo Province to meet big game breeder, Piet Warren.
Hello.
Are you Piet? - Yes.
- I'm Louis.
Pleased to meet you.
Piet raises exotic animals and sells them when they're old enough to be hunted.
He specialises in a kind of antelope called sable, but today he wanted to show me his lions.
' Will we be travelling in here? That's where you're gonna travel.
Yeah.
So, this is what you're feeding the lions? Yes, these are unborn calves from the abattoir.
We just I buy them off the abattoirs and we feed them feed them to the lions.
I'm not really used to being around, um, dead animals.
- Yeah.
Yeah.
- You know? No.
So, even, like, the idea of unborn calves is odd to me.
Even the concept of it? Yeah, a bit.
Yeah.
Like seeing it and I think the idea of slaughtering a pregnant cow, to me is quite odd.
Yeah.
But that's That's normal, is it? That's normal, yeah.
Piet also has his own hunting reserve, but filming there was strictly off-limits.
I mean, just for the record, can I ask, obviously you've made a decision you would like us not to film any hunting, is that right? - Yes, bec.
.
- Why is that? If you show hunting, it's offensive to 98% of the people.
So that'll give the film a negative taint before you start.
You don't even want us to film you talking about hunting? No, it's negative, it's negative to the mind, it's about farming.
What we came to do is farming.
There are just so many people that want to do that.
- What? - Hunt.
There are just so many and they want to hunt, that's what they like.
And there's a demand for it.
All this that you see here was paid for by the Americans.
We had cattle here, this was orange trees.
30 years ago this was all orange trees, now it's just bush and game.
Because they pay us more money than what we did with the cattle.
It's very simple.
They're very clean-looking, aren't they? There's no scars on them.
Yeah, because if you don't allow a lion to go hungry, they don't fight.
They only fight when they get hungry.
So these lions have never been hungry? Well, why would I allow them to get hungry? They might There's 120,000 rand walking around there.
Why would you allow him to get hungry? That's That's £10,000, just about.
Why is he looking at us like that? He thinks you are a plate of food.
He doesn't see you as anything else, he doesn't see you as And you go and try and walk in there and see what happens.
And all that will remain is the top part of your skull and your boots, the rest they will eat everything.
And they will play with your clothes.
So these lions, will they be hunted? - Every one.
- They will? That's the only value, what other value is there to a lion? - So you raise them for hunting? - I only raise them for hunting.
And, um If the hen doesn't lay eggs, we eat it.
Yes.
We raise those chickens, the ones that lay eggs, they stay one side, they have an 18-month period, and Miss Hen, do you know this is your cage, you lay one egg a day, and if you don't lay one egg a day we eat you, too.
How do you feel about your lions? - Do you love them? - No.
Why? No, becauselook at his eyes.
You walk past him, walk past him and feel if you feel any love there.
- Walk past where? - Next to the walk area.
- I'm not sure if I want to.
- No.
There's no love.
OK, let's go.
What about Siegfried and Roy? They love their tigers.
Yeah.
It's just a plain commodity.
Let's go.
But do you think, um No, now we're going, now it's time.
We've got to go? No, sir, you're wasting my time, let's go.
Get in.
- Do we get in here? - Yeah, we get in here.
We're definitely safe in here? You have to come in here too, though, Piet.
I'll just take you to the gate first.
They'll go for the They're not gonna eat - Obviously not gonna eat us, but - No.
Do we have a plan as far as how we're gonna get out once the? Well, you don't get out.
No.
You don't move.
Not out of this vehicle.
Yeah.
couldn't they reach through the bars, though? It's all suddenly gone a bit It's all suddenly gone a bit Ernest Hemingway, hasn't it? So what is that there? That's your? That's just an ordinary shotgun.
Just a pump-action shotgun and I've got seven cartridges, so we've got lots of Er, if ever something did go wrong.
If it was a human body, you must know how much pain you would be suffering.
Shall I throw one? Shall I Shall I throw one? About 20 kilos.
Backward, yeah.
Yikes! Ohhh! Does it seem a bit? I mean, you could say it's a bit pointless the idea of raising an animal in captivity, then releasing it and then hunting it.
Is it sort of aan artificial experience, a little bit? Yes, I would guess so, but a bungee jump is also.
I mean, if you're going to jump out of an aeroplane, well A bungee jump is an artificial experience.
You know it's going to catch you there.
Would it appeal to you, the idea of hunting in that way? If I had never hunted Maybe a bear or something, which I've never hunted or never been, I've never been to Alaska, I would - You'd do the so-called canned option? - Absolutely.
Because it's quicker and more convenient and? No, and the adrenaline rush is so much more and the risk is so much more.
Lions like this in Tanzania would cost you 40,000 US dollars to hunt.
You won't get a trophy that looks like that for that kind of money.
He's scarred and he's buggered and he's ugly.
But he's more real, I suppose? He's more real, I suppose, yeah.
Yep.
Back at Shingani and there was a busy day ahead.
The rest of the hunting party from Ohio had arrived, and they were keen to get out onto the game farms and start claiming their trophies.
What's the plan today? I'll just head into a blind and hopefully we'll get a kudu.
- Kudu? - Kudu.
And you, Rick? I'd like a wildebeest boar maybe and aer gemsbok.
What do you guys do back in your regular lives, if I may ask? Um, I own a trucking business, so I pretty much haul asphalt ander, we do roadways, and when I'm not doing roadways I haul stone and gravel.
- So it keeps me busy.
- Yeah.
And Rick? I work at a recycling plant, recycle books.
So kind of a good thing.
How did you choose kudu? Well, that's the king of African game, is kudu.
So They're a big animal, very big.
Anthony's kudu would be costing £1,100.
He and Rick were shooting on a game farm belonging to Lolly Furie.
Are you Lolly? - Yes.
- I'm Louis.
Who I'd heard had a surprising second occupation.
- Am I right in thinking you're a vet? - Yes.
- A veterinarian? - I'm a veterinarian, yeah.
So you heal animals, you cure them? Yes.
Yeah, we try.
Do you look after the animals here as well as a vet? In a way that's.
.
- Yes.
- Almost like a conflict of interest.
You could say, because the animals are getting hunted and killed.
Your profession is to keep animals alive in a way.
That's right.
So the game farming today is a farming practice, you've got to make a living out of it one way or another.
And the game, you know, once a game fence is up we feed them every winter and they get fed very well, so of course they breed very well.
So, you know, the amount of space you've got, you're limited to a certain amount, so you've got to keep your numbers down.
Do you hunt yourself? - No.
Not at all.
- Why not? No.
I don't enjoy it.
- You used to? - Yeah.
- But not any more? - No.
Why doesn't he do it any more? I ask the same thing of my dad.
My dad becomes more enjoying the animals than hunting the animals.
I think it comes with age.
My dad said, "Wait till you get older "you're gonna slow down on hunting, "you're not gonna have that killer instinct all the time.
" While we waited for news from the hunters, Lolly took me on a tour of his 3,000-acre property.
This too had once been a cattle farm and was now turned over to a variety of trophy animals.
Like a lot of game farmers, Lolly had formed an attachment to his animals.
He told me he'd only allow bow hunting, as the noise of gunshots causes them stress.
He seemed especially fond of his giraffes.
You were saying, that people are not allowed to hunt these on your property? Er, Louis, you see, there's a time, you know, it's just a matter of one becomes attached to them, you, you eventually get to know each one of them, you know, so we don't allow any hunting, whether it be rifle or bow hunting of the giraffe on the farm.
I suppose it's I wouldn't say it's wrong, but there's always that little bit of sentiment.
It's like cattle as well, I don't shoot the animal, the cattle on the farm as well for own use, I'd rather load him to an abattoir or whatever and get a butcher to to do the meat processing.
Why? It's just, as I said, there again, it's that close contact that you have with the animals and you get to know them and so on, and I've just lost all interest in it.
I don't enjoy shooting animals, whether it be cattle or game or whatever.
The giraffe, there's always a sense of tranquillity about them, they move quietly.
Late in the day, word came that Anthony had shot his dream animal and that trackers were trying to find it before nightfall.
How was it? - Kind of, ershaky.
- Why? cos it's a lot of animals in here at one time and I put a good shot on, I think.
It went off down that way.
Where'd you get him? It was a kudu, right? Kudu, got the kudu.
Oh, went right in the front of the shoulder through to the back of the shoulder.
- Went all the way in.
- Vitals? Yeah, I think I got both lungs.
Maybe the heart.
A good shot.
So, what's gonna happen now? We're gonna sit and track, hopefully - it's getting dark.
That's the bad thing about night shooting.
Very windy today.
It was a calm shot though when I took it, it wasn't windy.
What's the story, do you know? - No, it sounds like a good shot.
- It was.
Showing quite a bit of blood.
Twenty to five, it came in.
Let's see if you hit him there.
- That one? - Yeah.
God, I'm still shaking! This is it.
I think I got it, I think I put a shot on it.
As the minutes passed, there was still no sign of the kudu.
Lolly seemed to grow anxious the animal might be wounded and in pain.
What do you think? Personally, I think it's turning a bit awkward.
I'd prefer a shot if he could take it behind the shoulder.
Yeah, he was a little Yeah, he was about like that toward me.
Yeah.
I hope they get him fast.
It's getting dark quickly now, hey? Uh? They've found it.
- What's that? - Yeah, they've found it.
- Did they? - Yeah, it's just a little They got it? Ah, they got it.
Oh! Oh! Is that good? Oh, no, he's dead.
Well done.
Oh! Oh! congratulations.
Well done.
Where is he? Right here.
Oh, wow! He didn't go far.
It skidded and you hit this bone here, but then.
.
Yeah, that's where I hit it right there, it went through.
- It must have ricocheted and hit a bone.
- Yeah.
And veered off.
- Yeah.
- No, that's wonderful.
The horns are holding its head in quite an eerie position, aren't they? Yes.
How long would it have taken that kudu to die, do you think? You know, this animal took off there at one hell of a lick.
So this is fast.
Would he be in his prime or in his old age? He's not old - he's about eight years.
What? Anthony, what's happening now? - Well, my heart's thumping.
- But what are you doing? We're doing trophy shots right now.
Is this an important part of the whole thing? This is the very important part.
After you kill a wonderful beast like this, this is the time.
Very good.
Back at Shingani and the Ohio hunting party had brought back a massive haul of animals.
Including Anthony's, there were three kudu, one gemsbok, four impala, two warthog, one nyala, one blesbok and a blue ball monkey.
Nice, man! - You got it? - Yes, I did.
The atmosphere was jubilant, but I was still struggling to share in the excitement.
Come here! Dude, that's huge.
I've got a big warthog sitting out there.
Giant! They come in, he's like, "I'll try it.
" I'm like, I threw that arrow off, I'm like, "I'm shooting this one.
" Look at this beast.
Nice.
Wow! What an animal! It's beautiful.
I've waited and waited.
I mean, it was I don't know, it's like, um.
.
What do you want to say? I don't know, I'm just trying to think about cos like, people who watch that and they're still not gonna understand, like, how you would explain why, why it makes sense to do it.
You've got to have a passion for hunting.
If you have the passion for hunting and you come to a state like this and you take an animal like that, dreams come true.
This is a dream.
This is a dream.
Huge.
Very huge.
Big animal.
It's a great day.
What do you think? I mean, I can The idea of preserving game in private game farms, you know, makes sense.
Mm-hm.
And I know that's done a lot to increase the numbers of rare species and exotic species and at the same time, the idea of actually shooting one doesn't appeal to me.
I mean, I think I'd feel guilty and upset if I did it.
- I understand.
- Yeah.
I understand.
I didn't feel guilty.
Are there animals that you wouldn't hunt, because they're sort of higher up the food chain, as it were? Well, it's all in the cost.
The cost is a big thing.
Every Not the intelligence or the sensitivity of the animals? No, it's all in the cost.
You would hunt an elephant, say? If you had the money? If I had the money, yes.
If I was very wealthy I'd take every animal you could get.
- A lion? - Yeah, not a problem.
- It's all in the money.
- Really? Yeah.
You can only afford so much.
You afford You could take it, go for it.
No matter what state it's in or what country.
cos you might never, ever get that opportunity to do it again.
The following day and after all the activity at Shingani, I heard that Ann Marie was now thinking seriously about hunting an animal herself.
What's the thought process that's taken you here? Well, the last couple of days I've been in the blind with Paul and it's been, I mean, it's been very exciting watching the animals and seeing the animals and it's been exciting, but in the same breath, I'm excited, but also worried.
So, I think it's just I think it's peer pressure.
We're here at a hunting lodge and everyone is talking about the hunting and I've experienced it first-hand and it's been exciting.
And Paul got three animals, didn't he? He got a kudu, a zebra, a gemsbok and then a warthog.
And how was that for you, seeing that? I was OK with all of them except the zebra.
I think maybe because it's too much like a horse, that was very That was an emotional one for me.
- Was it? - Yes.
Was that emotional for you, Paul, too? It wasn't.
I felt bad for her, she was teary-eyed and, and wasn't real happy with it.
So it'sI think it's just in the, er evolutionary process of Ann Marie.
She's evolving.
"The evolutionary process"? A little later, I joined Riaan for a tour of his latest venture, a recreated wilderness that he was in the process of building on 2,000 acres.
There's a water hole I built.
Up until now, the sight of dead animals and the relative ease of the hunting had left me feeling unsettled about the industry, and I hoped this might be a chance to share my misgivings.
And so the water's piped in? I've got a pipe.
can you see that little black pipe sticking out? Really? This keeps it filled and I pump it once a week.
And so this is more, more natural.
Animals like it more.
And then I've built a blind, um, where we shoot - bow hunting - in the antler shape.
- And you built this? - Yeah.
It doesn't look unnatural for the animals, also.
It'sit's like animal-friendly.
Do you ever feel likeyou grew up in South Africa - hunting in the old style.
- Yeah.
And there'd be wild animals, you'd track them, no-one owned them, - it's changed a lot.
- Much easier.
You have to cater to what the clients want really, don't you? Yeah, you basically You basically get adopted of the client's, um, abilities, number one, and then what he needs.
And if he says "I'm here for five days "and I want to get a kudu and a zebra and a wildebeest "and X, Y and Z," and then you sort of have You're obliged to kind of deliver that, really? Yeah.
Because that's how we make our money.
That's how we make a living, so you have to get him his animals.
When I was a boy if I shot one animal in the whole hunting season, which was three months, that was great.
Now you can shoot five, six a day if you want to.
That's just how muchhow much the change with the management.
If you go to Zimbabwe tomorrow and go try and shoot a kudu, good luck.
Poached out because the people were hungry, the government, there was no food and they killed out the animals.
They're now poaching in South Africa already.
Those animals are gone.
Five, six years ago in Zimbabwe was one of the best animal countries there was, game everywhere, but there was no control.
Poaching took over.
Now you have, here you have private land, people take care of their private land, they take care of the animals, that's why the numbers are so much more.
How do you see your role, then? It's very difficult because there'sthere's a lot of pressure, on hunters because people don't understand it.
I've tried to explain to you.
If you don't pull the trigger you don't know, "Why does this guy like to kill animals?" Because it basically comes to the point, man, you kill animals.
The hunting part, nobody listens to that, this is like that guy's a murderer, he kills animals, look at all the blood.
Like, hey, go todo you eat beef? Do you eat lamb? How do you think they get killed? That's worse than you ever can believe.
The killings we do are clean compared to how domestic animals, horses, cattle get killed in the slaughtering houses.
These things get What do you call it when you've twisted a guy's arm and break legs and they go through hell.
- Tortured.
- They get tortured, yeah.
These guys go into the slaughtering houses, the meat gets exported and people eat it, they've got no idea where this beef comes from.
This piece of beef grew on a farm and if somebody killed it with a little pin, shot it in the head and while it was still kicking, somebody cut the vein, cos the blood needs to come out of the meat to get it clean.
But this is the things that nobody sees, so nobody can relate and say, "Oh, it's bad to shoot cows or it's bad to eat beef, "because beef are being slaughtered.
" But hunting is different because hunting's got a negative attachment to it.
Listen, do it and after that you'll know you like it or you don't like it.
Because now you still don't know.
You have to pull the trigger to know the difference.
Back at Shingani and Riaan's arguments had made me question my instinctive resistance to hunting.
I decided to take him at his word and arranged to go on a hunt of my own.
I booked in for a crossbow lesson with a professional hunter called Clint Taylor.
And is there pleasure in taking an animal's life? That's what's hard to get to grips with.
It's definitely not a pleasure.
It's, it's a goal you set yourself.
Youyou're outwitting the animal.
You're theI mean, we're the super predator on theon the planet.
But aren't the odds so stacked in favour of the hunter that the challenge has been reduced a lot? I mean, she's a good shot but I saw Sharnay, who's what, seven years old, six years old, shoot an animal, shoot a warthog with one of these which suggests it's quite easy.
I told you, the kill's the easiest part.
It's to get there.
The kill is part of it, so is it that the? There's something predatorial in the nature of people that they that we enjoykilling an animal? Some people enjoy killing.
Some people don't.
Every individual draws their own line.
So, every person's different.
For Ann Marie's hunting debut, she had her sights set on an impala, price tag £200.
She'd taken her crossbow to a game farm belonging to Piet Venter.
The animals, as we were driving through, it seemed like there were a lot of them, much more than I was expecting.
Yeah, most, yeah, I've got lots of animals.
They seemed almost tame.
Well, that's because we do bow hunting since '94, only strictly bow hunting, that's the difference between my place and a rifle hunting area.
- They're a lot more calm.
- Yeah.
- Yeah, they are very tame.
- Really? Yeah, sometimes you can drive past them and they won't even look up.
Almost like the national parks.
Like Lolly, Piet had grown fond of his animals and he was concerned that Ann Marie's weapon of choice might not be powerful enough to make a clean kill.
And what were you asking just then? About the crossbow.
It's OK.
They promised me it will be OK.
What are you worried about? We don't use crossbows for hunting.
Are you worried that she might miss? No, I'm sure she's not going to miss, cos it's easy, easy to shoot from the blind.
Do you know, Ann Marie, this will be her first hunt? - In Africa or where? - Anywhere.
Anywhere? OK.
Let's give it a try.
Why is he worried about crossbows? I think it's just like he said, first time he's had one on his farm.
It's not something he's trusted with.
So, he thinks maybe it won't kill the animal as quickly? Yes.
It's all about - Because he cares about the animals.
- Yeah, yeah.
- OK, that's fine.
- Yeah? Impalajust about there.
That's the killing zone.
On the leg.
OK.
Did I get him? Yes.
Made a good hit, lots of blood, I saw blood, lots of blood.
Lots of blood.
Lots of blood.
Did you see the blood? Yes, I saw lots of blood, excellent job.
I'm shaking.
Oh, yes.
Excellent shot.
He was not going anywhere.
Nice length, you've got a very good trophy there, well done.
Thank you.
- Excellent shot.
- Thank you.
For a first animal, you did good.
That's beautiful.
Great.
can you move to the other side to get it? So, you can actually see the blood, it's like creamy, so you could tell it was lungs.
What's happening? Its lungs are deflating.
Oh, my word.
Is it possible it's not completely dead? No, no, look at its eye, it's already glazed over.
Hmm.
How did you feel? You look a little bit - Overwhelmed, still? - Overwhelmed.
I mean, you look almost a tiny bit put off a bit, like a bit not upset, but distasteful? Like he said, this is the first animal that, I don't know, I'm still not saying that I'm the huntress, but it was, I mean, it was intense, it was an interesting experience, I would probably But what about now looking at the animal? Well, I feel bad, you know, I feel bad, but it's, I don't know about you, it's like what we say, you know, wouldn't you rather die of a quick heart attack and get it over with in a few moments versus having a prolonged suffering or death? So, I'm OK.
I'm just still not Just like the other animals when Paul got They'll move it around and then you pose with it.
I just can't move it around and do stuff with it yet.
How quickly do you think would have died, Willie? First, how long does it take an impala to run 75 yards? 5 seconds, 10 seconds and he was dead.
It was my turn.
Clint and I were on our way to Lolly's farm where I would be taking my pick from the range of specially-raised trophy animals.
Think you're ready for this? I was feeling anxious, but I felt I owed it to my hosts to try and get in touch with the killer in me.
It's hard not to think that somewhere in these bushes there's a little animal, maybe an impala, maybe awarthog that you know, might not see it through the day because of me.
That's a weird thought.
I think people make a mistake by giving a wild animal human feelings.
They don't have human feelings.
No.
They have feelings.
- They do, but not.
.
- They feel nervous.
- Not human feelings.
- Fear.
It's, you know, people tend to think of Bambi when they go hunting and stuff and compare it to that.
It's nothing like it, it's a wild animal we've got here.
If we shoot it or a lion kills it or a cheetah catches it, you know, there's not much difference really.
So, everything now revolves around you, it's up to you to decide what you want to do.
If you want to go through with it.
And, you know, forget the animal and, and then it's you and the crossbow.
Makes me a bit nervous thinking about it.
- Shall we get in there? - Yeah.
Warthog? Are you looking for a big trophy or do you just want to shoot a pig? I don't mind if it's big or not.
Because if you want to shoot a pig, this is a young male, it would be a good one to shoot.
Its tusks are not huge but he's a young bloke.
You see on his body, just behind from where his elbow goes up, there's like a shadow? - On the warthog? - On the warthog.
The top of that shadow, that's where you want to aim, that's where you want the arrow to go.
Why? Straight in there, that's gonna go over the top of his heart and through both lungs.
Finish him.
Kill him.
He won't even know he's dead.
You've just got to wait for him to move a little bit.
Because the bolt will go right through him, so it's harder to hit anything behind him.
Yeah.
OK.
See if he comes toward OK, take it.
I don't think I can do it, Clint.
I'm not feeling an urge to do it.
I'm feeling an urge not to do it.
OK, well, that's your decision.
I really don't think I want to do it.
I'm sorry.
About ten yards there.
I didn't want to kill the animal.
Hmm.
It feels a bitit seems a bit wet, almost.
You know? There's a part of me that feels like, well, yeah, it makes sense to face up to the gore of nature and be part of that process But, um, and I didn't I wonder if maybe also it was a bit easy.
It felt quite easy.
Like I said, not everybody's a hunter.
You'll eat the meat, but you won't kill it.
That's fine.
People just have to respect that, hmm? Leave it to the professionals.
That's it.
Where are we going, Piet? To the sale pens where the animals are being kept for the sale.
I was back with Piet Warren.
He'd offered to show me his sable, a species he'd helped bring back from the brink of extinction.
And these are sable you're selling? Yes.
I have too many bulls and um, the guys who own safari outfits need bulls for the coming season.
- For hunting? - For hunting, yeah.
Yeah, so I select the bulls which I know are not really up to standard and they are moved to this facility.
You're not keen for us to see the lions again? - No.
- Why not? We've got two hours of footage, you must just roll it back and see it, it's all there.
The bottom, the top, the side, all the sides of the lions.
Are you telling us how to do our job? Sort of, yes.
I was now close to the end of my time in the world of hunting.
I'd been swayed by some of the arguments but I was still troubled by the idea of animals that have been bred for the sole purpose of being hunted.
They look quite vulnerable, don't they? Would you like to get in and just give him a chat, give him a touch? I'd love to.
Why, what would happen? They would kill you.
- Why? - Because you've They're cornered.
How would they kill me, though? They would shove those horns right through you.
They kill each other, kill each other all the time.
It's like, um, you said, if these animals didn't get hunted they wouldn't be here, there's no other reason for them to be here.
- Never have been bred.
- They'd never have been bred.
Then you could say, um, to be bred just to be hunted, you know, what kind of a life is that? No.
Not much point.
Wonderful, because one tenth of them is selected and becomes a magic bull for ever, and the other, the other.
.
- Nine tenths.
- Nine tenths have a place on the wall.
You won't even have a place on the wall.
They're gonna have a place on the wall.
It's not like chickens where chickens are bred for eating.
And we don't say that we're going to hunt them, we just breed them so that we can eat them.
But these are being bred to be killed, for no other purpose.
But you don't understand.
The purpose is for the sport of hunting.
Hmm.
But is it a sport when everything's being done to make sure that the hunter will get his trophy? - Yes.
- Why? It's like tennis without a net, isn't it? If you want to put it that way.
If you want to put it that way.
Come and have a look.
I don't think this thing's going to come off well.
Oh, no, I don't mean Youryour trend is wrong.
You've asked me that ten, 15 times you have asked me.
It's just to be killed.
Do you think that's right? Do you think that's wrong? You've asked me that 15 times, and I've told you 15, 16 times that's what we're up to.
I understand.
That's why I agreed to do this thing is for you to see the other side.
Nothing of this, not one of this, this would have been wasted, all this would have been, the trees would have been chopped and made firewood up.
Now, all these sisters are being bred, we are creating better and better sables, we are creating better and better rhinos.
We have a rhino bull now of three and a half years, he's got a 22-inch horn, it's unbelievable.
Because we're being paid per inch.
Understand that, it's a different perspective.
Africa does not have computers and people who are disciplined, who give it a chance.
It's a fact because we chop down everything and we eat everything, and this is a way to make money out of what there is here.
OK? I didn't mean to upset you, I'm sorry.
No.
I mean, stop asking the same question.
I hate fucking elephants because they kill every good-looking tree.
They don't eat the shitty bush, they kill those big trees, they just debark them.
Now, we can't get a permit to destroy or remove these elephants, because the public, the world public, thinks that we are cuckoos, because that question you asked me, "Doesn't it hurt you to hunt it?" It doesn't hurt me.
I grew up in another culture.
I mean, do you think it hurt? But you care about the animal, you care about the animals.
- I care.
- You don't want to see them all extinct.
That's why they're going to go extinct if they don't bring any money.
They're going to become totally extinct.
What have I done with all the money I've made out of sables? Bought other sables, created a natural environment where they used to live and, and I'm telling you, if it's not for hunting, there will be no species left in Africa.
A little later, I joined Piet to watch a sable capture on a nearby game farm.
This bull was one of the lucky tenth that would be used to breed other sable for hunting.
For me it was a last chance to get close to some of these beautiful, at one time endangered animals.
Do you like the animals, I mean, do you like animals in general as a vet? I suppose you have to.
I love them, that's why I do it.
I still cry when they die.
Been a vet for eight years, I still cry every time.
- Do you? - Yeah, that's why we do it.
You wouldn't make a very good hunter.
You see, most of the people are not only there for the hunting, the hunting is a business as well.
But a lot of them are there for the love of nature as well.
And managing it, seeing what you have.
I've asked Piet the other day when we were working with his animals, "How much fun do you have out of this?" Not do you have fun, how much fun? And he said to me, "This is oxygen.
" What we're doing here, this is oxygen to him, the passion of working with these - Who said that? - Piet.
- Piet Warren? - Yeah.
Paul says you've got a passion for the animals.
Passion? Yeah, OK.
I mean, um, a feeling for the animals, yeah.
II've never known life without an animal.
After all my time in South Africa, the urge to trophy hunt still seemed strange.
But it has paradoxically allowed exotic species to flourish.
By killing them, hunters have also kept them alive.
As for me, I'll eat the meat, but I won't kill the animal.