Oh crap....
General Topic
Notice it's called a "film", not a documentary.
Is that the best shot on a rhino?
Trophy’: CNN Sets Airdate For Hunting & Conservation Film With Limited Commercial Interruptions Lisa de Moraes December 20, 2017 9:27AM PST
CNN Films CNN will premiere Trophy, the critically acclaimed film exploring big-game hunting and wildlife conservation, at 9 PM Sunday, January 14, with limited commercial interruptions.
CNN CNN acquired the film, directed by Shaul Schwarz and co-directed by Christina Clusiau, at Sundance in January. The cable news network is heading back to the Park City fest next month as a buyer for a fifth year. Its first-year acquisition was Blackfish, and buys also have included Dinosaur 13, Escape Fire (which debuted at Sundance in 2012 but CNN acquired the following year) and Holy Hell. Sundance kicks off CNN’s annual look at films for investment; most years CNN has taken films there for premiere.
Amy Entelis, EVP talent and content development for CNN Worldwide, describes Trophy as an exploration of “the complex stakes surrounding sport hunting and wildlife conservation.”
The filmmakers said they wanted to explore the idea of what it means when people place economic value on wildlife.
Among the film’s stops, the annual conference for Safari Club International in Las Vegas, which features exhibits for hunting outfitters, guns, taxidermy services, conservation seminars and safari licenses. SCI attracts 20,000 visitors from around the world each year. Hunting clubs, and organizations like SCI, argue that the trophy permit fees secured by hunters engaged in legal activity make important contributions to African economies and also fund conservation efforts.
Since 1970, the world has lost more than 60% of all wild animals, with some species faring even worse. Populations of elephants have plummeted from 10 million in 1900 to 1.3 million in 1979 to only 350,000 in 2015. In 2008, the year prior to South Africa’s moratorium on the sale of rhino horn, 83 rhinos were poached. In the year after the ban, 333 rhinos were poached, and in 2014, more than 1,200 rhinos were illegally killed.
Hunting and habitat encroachment have impacted wildlife reduction, the film acknowledges, but it takes the position that poaching is having the most dramatic deleterious impacts. Poaching, the film argues, often is “connected to both corruption and terrorism.”
Probably directed my a animal rights activitist. TV is so lame anymore. You know what CNN stands for Corrupted News Network.
Since they are usually jumping from one sensational story to another It takes them awhile to finally get things right and usually by then its too late ! So on to the next story !!
I look at it another way - the nonhunting voting public will never see "our" side of it unless it's on mainstream media. There has been way too much "Cecil" propaganda as it is. I have a feeling we may be surprised that it shows the hunting-conservation aspect in a positive light.
Unfortunately the liberal left voting base from cities is growing. As urban/suburban areas expand the power of the radical left grows. In recent years the expanding voting impact can be seen. Though most of the National map is red, the growing blue areas carry a nearly surpassing amount of votes. Evidenced by how well Bernie Sanders did. Sad that such compact areas have that much impact on us all. Those are CNN’s audience joined by the 3 other major networks. They will LOVE this “film”.
The number of people that will see this one show is dwarfed by the number of people we a group of 15 million hunters in the United States impact and influence on a daily basis in our communities, workplaces, churches, schools, neighborhoods, etc.
What does your behavior in front of those people say about us as hunters and hunting.?
Its CNN....no one I know even watches CNN anymore as they edit the news so harshly.
I would expect nothing short of a tidal wave of propaganda with this type of rubbish production.
The film makers are serious award-winning documentarians from Israel, not affiliated with CNN. CNN simply bought the rights to air it. The mainstream reviews sound like it's pretty fair and balanced, trying to objectively show how hunting funds conservation and anti-poaching efforts. Sounds like they slam the ARAs a bit over the Cecil debacle.
I will say CNN did a piece a few years ago that was about as pro-hunting as you will see concerning Texas land owners who were saving a species and let hunters shoot some to support their efforts.
Then some enviro-wackos stopped the hunt for a few years. They got the best quote ever from the wackos that saying, "I would rather have the species go instinct than hunting save them." I think that piece helped into getting the law over-turned.
Hopefully it's half as good as that piece.
That broad that made that statement about rather having the species go extinct than hunting saving them is an absolute nut case!
It`s CNN.....nobody will see it.
I still remember the " Guns of Autumn" that was on CBS in the late 70's or early 80's where Dan Rather tried to really put the left spin on hunting. It was more like "The Killing Fields " than hunting a real piece of trash only meant to put hunters in a bad light by showing the worst of high fence operations. Really helped the HSUS anti hunting movement.
I'm not nearly as worried about the effects of this film as I am about the fact that we lost 2,000,000 hunters in the last five years according to QDMA.
And I'm with Lou, wait until it airs and see what it's all about.
CNN = Clinton News Network
BTW: Those crosshairs look a tad low for the bullet to enter the brain cavity.
Arby's , ya know , the fast food joint, advertised heavily on one of the TV channels that air hunting shows . They we're advertising a venison sandwich for sale on TV! The had the same campaign this past fall. What I'm seeing is a bit of a shift with the younger generation to a more hunting friendly attitude. The whole animal rights " movement" is losing support cause the age group that got it started ,and realized there's giant salaries to be made in non-profits, is starting to die off. My son and I get regular requests from non-hunters to shoot deer for them because they know the quality and health benefits of wild meat. The anti-hunting mentality is not quite as politically correct as it has been in the past because the younger generation has so many avenues to use to acquire information !! Lots of people I know will post a picture of an animal they killed on social media and most of the responses are positive . Don't think for a minute that the mainstream news entities don't know what the more popular view of a subject is and they will try to be first to jump on the popular bandwagon. I'm not saying that cnn is suddenly gonna take our side against the antis but I'm willing to let this play out cause I personally have seen the shift in attitudes from the time I attended public school till now. Hunting is more accepted by urban dwellers than at any time in my life. I hope that this show on CNN will be honest and informative. We as hunters already know the truth . When an animal, any animal , has no economic value it has no protection!!
Lou - you need to quit trying. Pat said CNN and that made up their minds.
For the rest of us, there are some good reviews on Rotten Tomatoes - see link.
Based upon the reviewers comments like "horror" and "terror" and "hard to watch", it seems that they play hunting in a fair light in this film. If they crucified hunting they would all be gushing about how "right" they are. I'll withhold my judgment until I see it but it seems like they may have played it in the middle.
If they have a shred of integrity, there is no way to ignore that legal wildlife management including hunting when appropriate is a giant benefit to these species. I'm thinking it might be an ok film.
"Can Hunting Big Game Save Them From Extinction?" That is the subtitle. From that subtitle it seems clear that they are going to talk about our side of the story. I'm going to watch it.
This has been on Pay Per View for a while. I have watched it. It shows both sides. I have never hunted in Africa and don't intend to so it was all pretty new to me. Its a lot about how hunting pays for conservation and how it pays to stop poaching witch seems to be a big problem there. To me one of the best parts was a legal elephant hunt and how not one scrap of meat or hide was left to waste. The poachers kill many more elephants then hunters and only take the ivory. That seemed to be true with rinos too. At the end I felt if they stop legal hunting the poachers will hunt them to extinction. Just my thoughts and my wife who watched it with me who has never hunted. I will be looking forward to more comments on this after its viewed.
I, like Brotsky and some of you others, will reserve my judgement until I see the documentary. Based on reading some of the full reviews, it does seem that the hunting may very well be portrayed in fair light. Time will tell.
Haven't seen it..... and being aired by CNN makes one flinch a bit right outta the gate.... but you never know. Driving to work this morning I listened to a report about how some DC restaurant is offering up high end very expensive venison dinners (commercial red deer at $40 lb) and is killing it so to speak...... then they went into explaining the Hunters for the Hungry programs across the country and how they donate so much venison (I forgot the figures but it was yuge....) The food distribution programs interviewed were gushing over how awesome it was and about the only protein food that was donated to them at all. One hunter talking about blue cheese stuffed roasts he does. A VERY pro hunting segment, even threw in how abundant the deer were and how hunting helps keep the population managed to a degree. Talked about expensive exotic fine dining with the same food going to food programs helping needy families for FREE right nearby.
This was on NPR. Go figure.....
Man, this would have been fun on the CF. Much too fair and balanced over here. I guess the BGF is the FOX News of BS;)
poor aiming point on the rhino
I saw this documentary. I felt they tried to cover both sides. There is discussion of the benefits of hunting to conservation. However, the type of hunting it covers is not something that I can relate to. It is almost exclusively African game farm shooting. It does not paint this in a very favorable light, IMO. Much of that is due to the attitude and demeanor of the shooters they chose to follow and show. I don't have much experience with African hunting, so I cannot say whether it is an accurate or thorough portrayal of an African ranch hunt. But I can say that it did not leave me with a favorable view of the shooters that participate in these types of hunts. However, what they were doing bore no resemblance to the hunting I do so I took no offense.
I too found the elephant hunt interesting but for a different reason. When the locals showed up to get the meat even they couldn't see why the hunter had taken such a small bull. IIRC one even said "that is no elephant".
Do any of you old farts here remember the CBS documentary, "Guns Of Autumn", hosted by that bastion of truth and journalistic integrity Dan Rather? It sounds like it just might get knocked off the top of the pedestal by this gift from CNN.
