Penek is not unhappy with Barrado, calling him an "...enthusiastic outfitter and professional hunter" who operates a good camp in a good hunting area. Moreover, he says Barrado called him by satellite phone ahead of time and warned him the charter fee would be high because the two other hunters who were scheduled to split the fee had cancelled. Penek's complaint is about the overall charter system as it operates in Africa. He says clients should perhaps be required to pay their charter fees in advance, just as they do their hunting fees. That way, clients would be protected against "surprises" such as he experienced.
Here at The Hunting Report, we think the idea has merit and might work in some areas. For certain, we think safari operators and agents do have a responsibility to address this problem more forthrightly than they do, and clients have every right to press them to do so. Passing all the risk of a "surprise" along to clients is simply not acceptable. The Hunting Report would be happy to provide a forum for further discussion of this issue.
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