In 1909 then Col. Teddy Roosevelt went on a hunting expedition to Africa, and with his party of eight, shot every thing in sight. Expedition hunting licenses included 50 animals/hunter, plus an extra bull elephant, an extra giraffe, rhino, or eland, an extra antelope, an extra wildebeest, and an extra waterbuck.
Matt Hughes went on a hunting expedition in South Africa with his son Joey. Although he is no Teddy Roosevelt, the former UFC welterweight champion was busy.
Hunting is South Africa is strictly licensed, and the hunting license fees fund the nation’s excellent conservation efforts.
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Africa Photos
On July 4th, Joey and I left for Africa. We flew in to Johannesburg and then took a jumper flight to Port Elizabeth. All of our hunting was done in the country of South Africa. Joey and I had a great time, I got homesick, but Joey didn’t want to come home when the hunt ended. Here are the photos of the animals that we hunted.
My blue wildebeest:
My kudu:
Joey’s kudu, also called the Grey Ghost of Africa:
Joey’s trophy bushbuck:
Joey’s impala:
My red hartebeest:
Joey’s gemsbok:
My gemsbok:
My eland (the biggest antelope on the planet):
Joey’s zebra:
My black wildebeest:
Me, Joey, and my cameraman Blake:
Matt Hughes’ Bible verse for this week:
Let us not grow weary of doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. (Galatians 6:9)
As has happened in the past when Hughes posted hunting images on his blog, former UFC welterweight contender Dan Hardy took offense.
Dan Hardy @DanHardyMMA
When is open season on ignorant, red neck, misguided, phony-Christian a–holes? I would love to shoot some of those.
Hughes defending the practice in an interview with MMAFighting.
“They can think whatever they want,” said Hughes of the critics. “But as far as, by the law, I’m right. You can’t see anything in the Bible [that says I’m wrong]. By the law and by the Bible, I’ve not done anything wrong. And if I haven’t conflicted with either one of those, I can live my life the way I want to. That’s my answer.
“When you go to Africa, I had to pay to shoot these animals. But, when you kill an animal, you get the hide and the horns. All the meat stays with the outfitter and it feeds the people there. So I wasn’t entitled to any of the meat.”
“I shot six animals: kudu, gemsbok, eland, red hartebeest, black wildebeest, blue wildebeest. [My son] shot a kudu, gemsbok, zebra, impala, and bushbuck. So, we had a great time. It was a great bonding moment. He’s 13 years old, so of course he’s never going to forget this. And he can’t wait to go back to Africa sometime.”
Hardy followed up in an interview with MMAjunkie Radio.
I believe there is a cycle; there is a balance to the ecosystem, and we play a part as a predator, and I’m not saying we shouldn’t hunt and we shouldn’t use animal products, as long as it’s done respectfully, said Hardy. My problem with Matt Hughes, he’s not going out there to fill his refrigerator with elk, or whatever, but he’s going out there to shoot a number of animals for a TV show that he’s making to promote his gun sponsors and his stupid (camouflage) wear and stuff.
It’s so frustrating for me to watch these people with such an unevolved operating system; to take a life for your entertainment is sociopathic. There’s no two ways about it. It’s one thing if you’re feeding your family. You can feel achievement that you’ve caught something that’s going to feed your family or your social group or your tribe. But to take photos and post them on your Twitter … yeah, OK, some smart person has seen an opportunity to donate the meat that’s shot by these people, and that is fortunate that there’s a use for the trophy meat. But his intention is what I’m talking about.
His intention is not to go over there and feed people. If he was concerned about that, he’d be out there digging wells and building schools and helping people live for themselves, instead of going over there and shooting a few animals. He doesn’t care what happens to them; he’s going over there for his own pleasure. And I don’t think we can encourage it.”
