A decision by the South African courts on captive-bred lion hunting early last month caused a flurry of media reports and online chatter announcing the end of what many refer to as “canned” lion hunting. The court ruling is the result of two years of legal wrangling between the South African Predator Breeders Association and the South African Government over regulations passed two years ago requiring an extended release period for captive-bred lions before they are hunted. The government demanded lion should roam free for two years before be.....

Last year a vast new area was opened up for elk hunting in Northern British Columbia, giving several outfits a new opportunity to book hunters for never-before hunted elk. I told Hunting Report subscribers about this opportunity when it was first announced in June 2008. In fact, the news was so fresh the regulations hadn’t been printed yet. You’ll recall that the new hunt was in the huge wildlife unit known as Zone 7-52, west of Fort Nelson. (See Article ID 2110.) Operators in that area were cautiously optimistic about the new 10-day el.....

Free-range hunting in New Zealand is going through a purple patch, meaning a period of excellence. Populations of all wild herds are up on private lands, and trophy quality is on the rise as more male animals are allowed to grow to maturity. This is because landowners no longer see wild game as pests but as a financial benefit and are managing the free-ranging herds on their properties. The trend particularly applies to red deer, tahr, sika and perhaps the biggest success story of all - fallow deer. Over the last decade a number of developin.....

It has been a year since outfitter Jay Carlson of Minodo Safaris took a break from hunting the Philippines after he was gored by an Asian water buffalo there, but this season he was back at it and reports taking several record book trophies with clients. That includes what Carlson says is sure to be the new Number One Philippine warty pig. This is a subspecies of the bearded pig. While this variety does not have the jowl hair bearded pigs are known for, it does carry a mane and long hair over its body. Interestingly, its tusks are more like .....

 It has been a number of years since we covered last-minute hunt opportunities, but it seems most appropriate now with the sliding economy. Obviously, this economy placed an unexpected burden on outfitters, but even in normal years, the very best outfitters have cancellations due to lucky clients who draw that “once-in-a-lifetime” tag for a hunt elsewhere. Whatever causes the cancellation, booking agents are often the first ones to hear from an outfitter with a sudden opening, so I contacted several of the best hunting consultants I kno.....