Safari Tourism: Paying to Kill

When King Juan Carlos paid an estimated $60,000 to kill an elephant in Botswana, it caused a major political scandal. The recent shooting of Cecil of the Lion provoked headlines all over the world. But despite the global outrage, hundreds of Westerns come to South Africa every year to kill wild animals. In this film, we investigate the safari tourism industry.

For 15,000 euros, you can shoot a lion. A rhinoceros is 80,000 euros. Sometimes you can even choose the size and color of the animal. In this country, where 80% of wildlife lives on private land, the animals belong to farmers who raise them especially for hunting. As Jeff Rand, the hunting guide of Juan Carlos, states: ‘What he did was totally legal. It was a great hunt.’

And for those who don’t want to have to travel to Africa to kill a zebra, now the animals are being shipped to Texas so that they can be shot there.