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In February of this year, JewelI and I entertained Mr. Ray Millican of South Africa in our home for several days. There we negotiated a Safari in Zambia for June 12 through June 30, 1998, He explained to us and our personal friends, James and Pat Barnes how he had leased the Kamsonso Concession from Lionheart Safaris, third floor, Godfrey House, Lomgolomgo Road, Lusaka, Zambia. This later was confirmed by fax from Lionheart. Mr. Millican went to great lengths to explain to us how carefully he planned his camp with meals, bottled water with the emphasis on camp life, and how important it was to a successful African experience. At that time I paid a deposit of $8,000.00 for Jewell and myself with the understanding that James and Pat Barnes would come as observers. Some correspondence took place later confirming flight, itinerary and information for gun permits.
On June 12, 1998 at scheduled time, we arrived in Lusaka, Zambia via British Airways at 8:00 AM. There was no one to meet us at customs with our gun permits. Customs confiscated our guns and we passed to the street without anyone to meet us at all. Several hours later, I got to a telephone and called Mr. K. M. Lamaswala of Lionheart Safaris and he informed us Ray Millican had a delay and he would come out to get us. An hour or two later, Mr. Lamaswala arrived with a copy of gun permits and we received our guns from Customs. By this time Ray Millican arrived with lots of stories about vehicle break down and tales of woe. He was driving a borrowed passenger car without any hunting type of vehicle in sight. We were then transported to a local hotel where we were left to make and pay for our own arrangements. Ray was in quite a hurry to receive the rest of the Safari balance with the game trophy fees. Within one minute after receiving our cash, Mr. Millican excused himself with a promise that he would see us that evening for dinner and pick us up at 6:00 A.M. to go hunting. This already had caused a days delay in our safari. That evening, Mr. Millican didn't show or call. The next morning we were up and ready at 6:00 and again Mr. Millican did not show or call. Finally, I called Mr. Lamaswala at his home about 9:00 AM and got through to his wife Edith and she explained she did not know where Ray was or what he was doing. By 11:00 AM she had hired a friend to carry us to camp along with a Zambian Professional Hunter, Anderson Hamtuha, License number 003060, He informed us he would be our PH as Mr. Millican did not have a license. Mr. Millican had assured Jewell, myself, and Mr. & Mrs. Barnes that he had all things in order and everything was well planned and would go smoothly. With no alternative at our disposal, we reluctantly left Lusaka with Mr. Hantuba and friend for Kufu Flats to hunt lechwee, it was mid-afternoon upon arriving at Kufu Flats and we hunted until dark. I took a few long shots without success and left at dark to proceed to Kasomso, When asked how far, the reply was "a few hours", A couple of hours on the road there was a huge bump and the vehicle careened off the road into the ditch. At the speed we were traveling we were indeed thankful the vehicle did not overturn and seriously injure us. Upon inspection we discovered the lug nuts had come off the wheel and two bolts were broken off. After a couple of hours, we jacked up the vehicle, got out the spare as the wheel was ruined, robbed lug nuts off of our wheels and we limped on toward camp. We arrived at camp at daybreak, 5:30 AM. We had been up for 24 hours with no food, no water, and only a couple of soft drinks,
About noon we got up and Ray Millican appeared in camp. This was three days after paying him in Lusaka. Ray had one old Land Cruiser (20 years old) in camp. He said that the other vehicle was in the shop and would be there tomorrow. "Tomorrow" became the story everyday. We left camp after lunch (of game meat) for hunting. Soon out of camp the vehicle began to run out of line. When I crawled under the vehicle I discovered the rear axle spring bolts were loose and the axle had slipped. I also discovered that the rear differential did not have a drive shaft. Ray's explanation was that all of his parts were in the other truck that was in shop. After several episodes of bolt tightening we got hack to camp. The next morning just out of' camp the locking hubs in the left front wheel started squeaking. We returned to camp to work on the wheel. By now my nerves, those of my wife and Mr. & Mrs. Barnes were shot. Being an old mechanic, I knew it would be suicide to go far from camp with this worn out truck, as it would he too far for women to walk back to camp. The next day we went on a short excursion from camp as we were afraid to risk going too far. Again, true to form, the truck broke down and we had to walk back to camp. After arriving back to camp I confronted Mr. Millican and told him I was tired of listening to lies and to get someone to get us out and that I was canceling the safari. We then discovered that he had no means of communication. He dispatched a man to walk to the Game Scout Village to plead with Mr. Lamawala to organize some help. Two or three days later Mr. Brian Vermaak showed up with a late model Land Cruiser. Mr. Vermaak is from a prominent Lusaka family and was to become the only bright spot in this safari. Our hunt now began to normalize as we had a good vehicle, a great host, Brain Vermaak, and plus a good PH, Mr. Hantuba. Ray Millican's only function was to stay in camp and eat. Two days later Ray Millican's truck that was in the shop showed up and he drove it to Fly Camp about 60KM away. It broke down and had to be towed back to camp. Not one of Ray Millican's trucks lasted more than one hour before breaking down,
There was constant bickering when we got back to camp between Ray and Mr. Hanatuba and his people, and Mr. Brian Vermaak. Ray Millican appeared to be immensely jealous of everyone, so everything from where we went, to how we hunted became an issue and Ray attempted to pit everyone against each other.
We were fed game meat every meal. Mr. Lamaswala came out with additional water, soft drinks and food, hut we received very little of this. After a week we were informed that the bottled water was finished and Mr. Millican had no sterilization or filtering equipment. We informed Mr. Millican that this was the last straw and we had no option but to cancel our safari.
This Safari was my ninth trip to Africa: one in South Africa, one in Cameroon, two in Tanzania, four in Zimbabwe. I have never seen such a lack of planning. Mr. Millican seemed to care less about our comfort or safety. He ran his camp as if it were a concentration camp, and treated his staff like dogs.
I appeal to you to restrain this man from doing business in your country as this kind of treatment brings the whole hunting industry into disrespect. If this is an indication of how the safari industry is regulated I will never come again. Without proper food, water, vehicles, and communication, this man puts his clients at great personal risk and someone could well lose their life this season.
Mr. Millican is a menace to the safety arid well being of himself and anyone entrusted to his care and is also a disgrace to the safari business.
Without the personal care of Brian Varmott and Mr. Anderson Hanatuba, we would still he marooned in Zambia. We left Mr. Millican's camp without communication or vehicle with a client (a woman), who would he coming in two days. Heaven Help Her!
In conclusion, I found that Ray Millcan had illegally charged me $4,850 in game management fees. I am planning to seek legal action to recover this and also seven days of daily fees that we were unable to hunt.
PLEASE DO EVERYONE A FAVOR AND DISBAR THIS MAN BEFORE SOMEONE IS KILLED.
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To: The Hunting Report From: Kwalela M. Lamaswala of Lionheart Safaris Zambia Date: July 20, 1998 Re: J. M. Glover's hunt
Many thanks for faxing us a copy of the complete three-page report from Mr. JM Glover regarding his hunt with our Ray Millican. I have given a copy this report to Ray Millican who has promised to send you a full account of his version of what happened. However as he has a succession of clients he asks you to be a little patient with his report.
Incidentally, we have in our camp now a Mrs. Angie Hall and her son of Florida USA. Mrs. Hall says she is known to you personally. Mrs. Hall returns to the US in early August. She too says she will make a complete report to you of the facilities at our camps and her experiences during her own safari.
For my part, I have been quite concerned about the experiences of Ray Millican's first two groups of clients in our Kasonso Concession this year: Roger Weidner and his wife Jeanne and John Glover and his wife Jewell and their friends Mr. and Mrs. Baines.
In a nutshell, the last rain season left the main road going west from Lusaka to Mongu through Kafue National Park in a terrible state. The worst portions have since been repaired but this was after this year's safari season had already started. One of Ray Millican's vehicles overturned in the second week of May. The second vehicle developed engine failure at night on route to Kasonso with the first client and his wife on board when all the oil drained out after a hole in the sump due to the bad road. With, both his vehicles down, Ray Millican had trouble maintaining not only the hunting schedules but also replenishing the camp with fresh supplies on a timely basis. Although standby vehicles were hired to allow the clients to continue with their hunts as smoothly as practical, by then client tempers had reached flash point. I myself traveled twice to camp to meet both sets of clients and express my concern and render assistance, but by then the clients were inconsolable
The transport situation normalized after the first two hunts and the third bunting party, a Mr. Lorenzo Fernandez and his wife Anna had a great safari. Mrs. Angie Halls hunt is also going smoothly. She rates our camps and the hunting conditions "four star".
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To: The Hunting Report From: Lionheart Safaris Date: July 20, 1998 Re: Letter sent to Lionheart Safaris from Lorenzo Fdez. De Villavicencio
Sorry for not sending copy of the fax sent to M. Revert but this one was in Spanish. Anyhow, as far as I know everything is perfectly clear now and Manuel has got a very positive impression.
I've already spoken with two of the groups of clients that are intending to go and both seem to we very enthusiastic.
As we told you in Lusaka, we have enjoyed very much our first Safari in Zambia and now, we only want to go back for the next one. Perhaps next summer.
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To: The Hunting Report From: Tony da Costa of Safari Headquarters Limited Date: June 30, 1998 Re: Letter sent to the Safari Club International's Ethics Committee by Tony da Costa
I will come directly to the point and ask your committee to immediately investigate the complaints of two clients who hunted with professional hunter, Mr. Ray Millican, in Zambia this year. One is our own client, Roger Weidner of Rock Springs, Wyoming, and the other is John Glover of Pleasant Hill, North Carolina. The latter booked directly with Ray, but he must have obtained my name from Mr. Lamaswala of Lion Heart Safaris who has the Kasonso GMA and who has given the 1998 hunting rights to Mr. Millican. Knowing of Mr. Weidner's and his wife, Jeanne's, unfortunate and intolerable experiences, Mr. Glover telephoned me yesterday following his recent return from a safari in Zambia with Ray Millican. His complaints were practically identical to those of Mr. Weidner. As a matter of fact, Mr. Glover said to me that if it wasn't against the law, he would have killed Millican. That's how serious the situation was.
What Roger and Jeanne Weidner related to me regarding their safari with Millican can best be described as a horror story. Roger began by saying that it was the worse hunt he has ever been on in his entire hunting career, and he has been on quite a few.
I have known of Ray Millican and have seen and heard of his name on several occasions over the years, but met him for the very first time at the SCI Convention in Las Vegas in 1997. He was introduced to us by Dick Born, who also was a professional hunter in Zambia for some years and whom we know quite well. Ray was offering safaris in Mozambique at the SCI Convention in 1997 and needed a good agent to promote him and the destination. We had clients ready to hunt with Ray in Mozambique but he failed to answer faxes and was unreachable all of the time. He advised that he had a concession in northern Mozambique along the border with Tanzania. To make a long story short, that turned out to be untrue or he claimed the concession was taken away from him. Knowing of the corruption that prevails in Mozambique, I felt that Ray perhaps deserved a second chance. That was a mistake I made in judging the man. John Glover informed me that Ray was a guest in his home for three nights before John went to Zambia to hunt with Ray. Furthermore, the references provided by Ray, all spoke highly of him, and that included Dr. Glenn Svoboda whose name is quite well known in SCI. It only proves that one cannot totally rely on references or even personal contact as witnessed by Mr. Glovers subsequent experiences with Ray.
Among the complaints, especially of Mr. & Mrs. Roger Weidner, were that Ray was very late in collecting them in Lusaka. When they finally got on the road to Kafue Flats where Roger was to take Kafue lechwe, the vehicle broke down en route and they had to spend the night in the middle of nowhere. No provisions were available, so much so that Jeanne drank from a river because she was near dehydration. There was not even a coke available in camp, and when they were out hunting all day, no food or drinks were ever provided. All during the safari, the vehicle would break down due to overheating.
In order for you to get the story straight and as experienced by Roger and Jeanne Weidner and also by John Glover and his wife, may we suggest you contact them directly by telephone?
Roger and Jeanne, who are retired, can be reached at home 307-382-9461 and John Glover at Glover Construction Co., at 919-536-2660.
You should also know that we had a Dr. Jerry Colletti booked for an 18-day hunt with Ray Millican starting on August 29,1998 which we have canceled. Dr. Colletti was to be accompanied by his wife, and they paid us a deposit of $10,350 of which $7,339.50 was sent to a Dr. Fennell in Athens, Georgia for deposit to Ray's account. We are refunding the full deposit of $10,350 to Dr. Colletti, and whether we will be able to recover this from Mr. Millican is anyone's guess at the moment. We always have, first and foremost, protected the interests of our clients. Secondly, our good name and reputation for professionalism, integrity and honesty is more important to us than the $10,350 we could very likely lose as a result of Mr. Millican's extraordinary behavior.
It is my intention and ultimate objective to have Ray Millican expelled from SCI and never again be allowed to guide clients on any hunting expedition. He is a menace to the hunting community at large, and there is no acceptable excuse for his actions. In my opinion, he is a liar, and others who have hunted with him have said he is crazy. He is totally incompetent, and if allowed to continue guiding safaris for SCI members and other hunters, could ultimately result in someone becoming seriously ill or even dying.
If I can be of any further help, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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To: The Hunting Report From: Lionheart Safaris Date: August 11, 1998 Re: Letter sent to Lionheart Safaris by Ray Millican
The reason for my holding back in replying is hoping that this situation "blow over" but Tony da Costa for reason best known to himself as a booking agent is aggravating matters. In view of this I am sending copies to relevant authorities.
First and foremost Tony has never set foot in any of my camps. As you mentioned Mr. H. Wolf of Hatari times came and hunted your area in October 1997 prior to booking a hunt for 1998.
Mr. Chuck Larsen PH 770 3219549-1-800 847 0834 just left a few days ago after spending over seven days. He advised me he is booking three lion hunts and a 10-day sitatunga hunt for 1999.
Angie Hall who is writing an article in two magazines PH 941-9228197 has just spent five weeks in my camp and did a one-week hunt.
I read with interest Tony's letter to Hatari Times Mr. H. Wolf. You said Mr. Wolf is flying down shortly to make sure that all is in order and I welcome the opportunity of showing Mr. Wolf the area and camp, I have nothing to hide.
Tony should realize no matter what, there is always two sides to every story and should see for himself
I am a victim of circumstances beyond my control which I will now detail.
The first was my back up Land Cruiser rolled in Zimbabwe on its way to Zambia resulting in 1/2 my contents being stolen plus damages to the vehicle.
The second was my Professional Hunting License was not issued until the end of the second safari thus could not conduct the first two. It was a catch 22 situation. The immigration department would not issue me a work permit unless I produced a PH license. The National Parks and Wildlife Services would not issue me a PH license unless I produced a work permit.
The third incident was when my hunting vehicle on the way to camp hit a pothole resulting in a hole in the sump - the warning light never came on resulting in the engine seizing.
The fourth incident was when the tire rod end broke on the way back to Lusaka of my back up vehicle.
Tony's client Mr. Weidner took the situation well realizing the circumstances. The situation deteriorated when he started to miss his animals and I would go as far as to say that he was the worst shot I have ever encountered. For example he fired 12 times at oribis before shooting one.
From about 40 yards with a dead rest he missed a waterbuck twice broadside on which I could not believe.
I tried to assist him which only aggravated matters. Later in the hunt he accepted my advice then thanked me. He was assisted beyond the call of duty. Had he shot as an average client he would have got all his animals with time to spare even allowing for circumstances beyond control.
Mr. Glover I hired a Toyota Land Cruiser Station Wagon to bring him to camp. The tire came off the vehicle outside a village at night. Needless to say they thought they were about to be attacked which did not help matters
Again I could not conduct the hunt and could not even accompany him when I hired a vehicle from Mr. Vermaak. Mr. Vermaak had his African assistant (2), Glover party (4), game guards (1), trackers (2) and the Professional Hunter, totaling 10.
Mr. Glover was extremely rude to me resulting in that I avoided him at every opportunity. He verbally abused me in front of my staff on at least three separate occasions and threatened physical abuse.
The situation was aggravated by my saying nothing and on completing his tirades I merely said "thank you".
My vehicles hire charges for this safari was just short of US$2,000.
Another problem was one did not like meat, Mr. Glover nothing that had feathers, another nothing with onions and the last tomatoes.
My cook under the circumstances performed miracles. I find it odd that I am told my food is terrible and nothing but praise from all my other clients. Mr. Hansen told me it is the best he has had and that he is extremely particular.
Larry Hagebush I do not accept as he is a friend of mine and if he has anything to say he is welcome to contact me direct and quite frankly I am totally astounded and we parted as gentleman.
My first hunt after Mr. Glover was a Spanish client which you advised was impressed and was going to book a hunt next year.
On ending if you receive a vehicle which has been repaired and it breaks down surely I cannot be held responsible especially as Mr. Glover was in the hired vehicle and did not suffer any inconvenience.
No one is more sorry than I am as a result of these circumstances which as you aptly put it had the vehicles not broken down and my PH license granted on time none of this would have happened which is beyond my control.
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To: The Hunting Report From: Lionheart Safaris Date: August 26, 1998 Re: Letter sent to Tony da Costa by Lionheart
We are having quite a season. After the very embarrassing start with the terrible safaris of Rodger Weidner and John Glover arid the two cancellations of Larry Hagerbush and Jerry Colletti things have worked out really well.
So far we have had nine safaris after John Glover and all have gone extremely well. We have eight more hunting clients before we close our camps at the end of October and all indications are that our government stipulated minimum animal quota will be far exceeded- which will put our company in the top third in performance of all big game outfitters in this country for this year. Had the two cancellations not occurred, we would have made the top three. I have no doubt, we will be the top performers for 1999.
I have written to Safari Club and Hunting Report admitting the terrible safaris that took place. I have also appraised them of the changes we undertook to rectify the situation and the excellent results we achieved with subsequent clients. Some of our clients have also written to these organizations in praise of their safaris with us.
Due to the succession of clients and all the changes we had to implement, I did not really discuss in any detail with Ray Millican the issue of refunds you have been asking him through my office. I have now done this and Ray's message to you is as follows:
He deeply regrets the deplorable safaris that took place but reiterates that a lot of what took place is due to circumstances beyond anyone's control.
That he had no intention of holding on to Dr. Jerry Colletti's deposit after the safari was cancelled, He requests for proof of payment of the deposit into his account after which he will issue appropriate instructions to his bank to refund the deposit to your account.
We have some difficulty in agreeing to a refund of some of Roger Weidner's daily rate. Roger was taken to Kafue Flats for Kafue lechwe. After a few missed long shots, he proceeded to Kasonso. There he had an opportunity to shoot each and every animal on his list. Roger is a banker and we believe an honest man. Roger in all honesty should admit that his shooting skills let him down very badly. As hunters, we all have our bad days and Roger's hunting in Kasonso was not the best, In any case according to our wildlife mules, his safari was supposed to be for ten days but we only charged him for eight days.
Please let me know if there is anything that still needs to be clarified.
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To: The Hunting Report From: Ray Millican Date: September 9, 1998 Re: Letter sent to the Chief Warden of Chilanga by Ray Millican
Further to my letter dated August 11, 1998 to the Mr. Lamaswala of Lion Heart Safaris of which you have been given a copy, I would like to add the following.
Mr. Lamaswala has contacted John Glover explaining to him that my Safari charges were in line with his and with most other operators in Zambia. An area fee is a legitimate expense which is paid to NPWS and in fact My J. Glover has no claim whatsoever.
In my letter to Mr. Lamaswala I advised that M. Glover was so totally abusive towards me that I made a point of staying away from him so basically had little or no contact.
He claims I was abusive to my staff while I find totally ludicrous as I was hardly in his presence to ever be in that position as my contact was virtually zero. It was intolerable to even be at dinner with them at night.
I would also like to add that I have a minimum of four staff who have been with in excess of 15 years and several others who have been with me for a number of years which I think speaks for itself
A well known Zambian P/H advised me that he was dropping off a client at the Holiday Inn, Lusaka. Mr. J. Glover who was dropped at the same time walked up to him and was totally abusive. This P/H was highly annoyed and said to Mr. Glover that he had never seen him in his life before and found his attitude totally unacceptable and that he did not have to accept his tirade.
Where upon Mr. J. Glover apologized but this merely illustrates the attitude of Mr. J. Glover. I was asked to contact Mr. Glover regarding a possible Safari by a Zimbabwe P/H who I have known a number of years at SCI at Reno this year regarding a possible Safari.
This P/H warned me that he had done a hunt with him in Zimbabwe and that Mr. J. Glover was most difficult. With over 20 years of experience I felt I could cope with Mr. J. Glover which unfortunately has been to my detriment.
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To: The Hunting Report From: Angie Hal Date: August 11, 1998 Re: Hunt with Ray Millican
I wanted to take this opportunity to thank you. As you may recall, I was in pursuit of an African hunt in which I could take my 16-year-old son, Tom.
Tommy and I have just returned from a five-week safari with Ray Millican. Words cannot express the emotions that have evolved. As a single mom, my concerns were first and foremost safety, reliability and the abundance of game. This safari went far and beyond my expectations. Not only did we have a first class hunt, I was exhilarated with the impact this trip had on my son! Ray and his staff of 17 took the time and effort to develop hunting skills in my son and laid the groundwork of being a responsible adult. As the weeks passed by, there emerged before my very eyes a young man with confidence and self-assurance, which had come unto himself.
This metamorphic change is something that perhaps only a mother could truly understand. It is an occasion where I feel for the first time that perhaps I didn't short-change him when filling the role of mom and dad. I did, to the best of my ability, provide the rounded sense of being sensitive to the issues of life yet maintain the inner strength to stand up to what life has to offer.
Yes, this truly was a hunt of a lifetime. We challenged the environment. We challenged our life. We both grew. Kudos to Ray Millican and Lionheart.
Should anyone want any additional comments regarding this hunt, please feel free to give them my telephone # (941)922-9571.
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