African Hunting Holiday

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African Hunting Holiday
Louis Theroux's African Hunting Holiday.jpg
Written by Louis Theroux
Starring Louis Theroux
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
Production
Producer Louis Theroux
Running time60 minutes
Original release
Release2008 (2008)
Related

African Hunting Holiday is a 2008 British documentary by Louis Theroux. [1]

Theroux journeys to Limpopo Province, South Africa to join the foreign holidaymakers who flock there to hunt big game in so-called "canned" safaris where animals are purpose bred to be hunted in enclosures, including controversial animals such as lions. The documentary features not only the hunters but also the individuals who run the safaris, and the effects they have on the numbers of certain species in these areas.

Reception

The programme received mixed reviews. [2] [3] [4]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hunting</span> Searching, pursuing, and killing wild animals

Hunting is the human practice of seeking, pursuing, capturing, and killing wildlife or feral animals. The most common reasons for humans to hunt are to obtain the animal's body for meat and useful animal products, for recreation/taxidermy, although it may also be done for resourceful reasons such as removing predators dangerous to humans or domestic animals, to eliminate pests and nuisance animals that damage crops/livestock/poultry or spread diseases, for trade/tourism, or for ecological conservation against overpopulation and invasive species.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fox hunting</span> Traditional equestrian hunting activity

Fox hunting is a traditional activity involving the tracking, chase and, if caught, the killing of a fox, normally a red fox, by trained foxhounds or other scent hounds. A group of unarmed followers, led by a "master of foxhounds", follow the hounds on foot or on horseback.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Big five game</span> African game-hunting species

In Africa, the Big five game animals are the lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and African buffalo. The term was coined by big-game hunters to refer to the five most difficult animals in Africa to hunt on foot, but is now more widely used by game viewing tourists and safari tour operators. They are examples of charismatic megafauna, featuring prominently in popular culture, and are among the most famous of Africa's large animals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Louis Theroux</span> British journalist (born 1970)

Louis Sebastian Theroux is a British-American documentarian, journalist, broadcaster, and author. He has received three British Academy Television Awards and a Royal Television Society Television Award.

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Paul Edward Theroux is an American novelist and travel writer who has written numerous books, including the travelogue The Great Railway Bazaar (1975). Some of his works of fiction have been adapted as feature films. He was awarded the 1981 James Tait Black Memorial Prize for his novel The Mosquito Coast, which was adapted for the 1986 movie of the same name and the 2021 television series of the same name.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safari</span> Journey to hunt safari animals or to observe or photograph them

A safari is an overland journey to observe wild animals, especially in East Africa. The so-called "Big Five" game animals of Africa – lion, leopard, rhinoceros, elephant, and Cape buffalo – particularly form an important part of the safari market, both for wildlife viewing and big-game hunting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eugène Terre'Blanche</span> White nationalist (1941–2010)

Eugène Ney Terre'Blanche was an Afrikaner nationalist who founded and led the Afrikaner Weerstandsbeweging. Prior to founding the AWB, he served as a South African Police officer, was a farmer, and was an unsuccessful Herstigte Nasionale Party candidate for local office in the Transvaal. He was a major figure in the right-wing backlash against the collapse of apartheid. His beliefs and philosophy have continued to be influential amongst white supremacists in South Africa and across the world.

A canned hunt is a trophy hunt which is not "fair chase", typically by having game animals kept in a confined area such as in a fenced ranch to prevent the animals' escape and make tracking easier for the hunter, in order to increase the likelihood of the hunter obtaining a kill. The term has been used for driven grouse shooting, in which large areas of Britain are farmed for red grouse. According to WordNet, a canned hunt is a "hunt for animals that have been raised on game ranches until they are mature enough to be killed for trophy collections."

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Trophy hunting</span> Hunting of wild animals for trophies

Trophy hunting is a form of hunting for sport in which parts of the hunted wild animals are kept and displayed as trophies. The animal being targeted, known as the "game", is typically a mature male specimen from a popular species of collectable interests, usually of large sizes, holding impressive horns, antlers, furs, or manes. Most trophies consist of only select parts of the animal, which are prepared for display by a taxidermist. The parts most commonly kept vary by species but often include the head, hide, tusks, horns, or antlers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">White lion</span> Rare colour mutation of the Kruger subspecies of lion

The white lion is a rare colour mutation of the lion, specifically the Southern African lion. White lions in the area of Timbavati are thought to have been indigenous to the Timbavati region of South Africa for centuries, although the earliest recorded sighting in this region was in 1938. White lions first became known to the English-speaking world in 1977 through the book The White Lions of Timbavati.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safari Club International</span> American hunters rights organization

Safari Club International (SCI) is a US organization composed of hunters dedicated to protecting the “freedom to hunt.” SCI has more than 40,000 members and 180 local chapters. SCI members agree to abide by the organization's code of ethics, which includes making a positive contribution to wildlife and ecosystems, complying with game laws, and assisting game and fish officers.

<i>Big Buck Hunter</i> 2000 video game

Big Buck Hunter is a game hunting video game developed by Play Mechanix. Primarily developed for arcades, the goal of the game is to shoot moving bucks or male animals without shooting a doe or female animal.

<i>The Most Hated Family in America</i> 2007 BBC documentary film

The Most Hated Family in America is a 2007 BBC documentary film written and presented by Louis Theroux about the family at the core of the Westboro Baptist Church. The organization was led by Fred Phelps and located in Topeka, Kansas. Westboro Baptist Church members believe that the United States government is immoral due to its tolerance of homosexuality; in addition, they protest at funerals of U.S. military killed in action with signs that display text such as "God Hates Fags" and "Thank God for Dead Soldiers". With a BBC film crew, Theroux travelled to Kansas to spend time with members of the church and interview its leadership. Theroux interviews church leadership including Fred Phelps and Shirley Phelps-Roper.

In these first special programmes (2003), Louis Theroux returned to American themes, working at feature-length, this time with a more serious tone than in his earlier Weird Weekends work. For example, Louis and the Brothel takes a sympathetic look at the sex workers working at a legal brothel in Nevada whereas Under the Knife takes a more critical look at the world of plastic surgery. Other programmes cover a wide variety of topics including law and disorder and Nazis.

<i>A Place for Paedophiles</i> 2009 British documentary

A Place for Paedophiles is a British documentary that was televised on 19 April 2009. Produced and presented by Louis Theroux, the documentary ran for 60 minutes, and took place at Coalinga State Hospital, a mental hospital in California for sexually violent predators.

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Law and Disorder in Johannesburg is a Louis Theroux documentary about the crime and private security situation in Johannesburg, South Africa. Theroux travels with heavily armed private security contractors who fill a security vacuum left by the government's inability to provide adequate security via normal means, such as policing. Theroux also meets with local people in Black townships, who practice vigilantism against suspected criminals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Professional hunter</span>

A professional hunter is a person who hunts and/or manages game by profession. Some professional hunters work in the private sector or for government agencies and manage species that are considered overabundant, others are self-employed and make a living by selling hides and meat, while still others guide clients on big-game hunts.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Cecil the lion</span> Lion that lived in the Hwange National Park

Cecil was a male African lion who lived primarily in the Hwange National Park in Matabeleland North, Zimbabwe. He was being studied and tracked by a research team of the University of Oxford as part of a long-term study.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Green hunting</span>

Green hunting is the practice of tracking and shooting game animals with non-lethal tranquilizer guns or bows and subsequently releasing the captured animals alive. Green hunting would typically be performed when tranquilization of the animal is necessary for veterinary, monitoring or species translocation purposes.

References

  1. "The price of a rhino's life? $100,000". BBC. 4 April 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  2. "Louis Theroux: African Hunting Holiday". SMH . 19 May 2008. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  3. Billen, Andrew (7 April 2008). "Doctor Who; Louis Theroux's African Hunting Holiday". The Times . London. Archived from the original on 17 May 2011. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  4. Sutcliffe, Thomas (7 April 2008). "The Weekend's TV: Ask questions first and shoot later" . The Independent . London. Archived from the original on 9 November 2012. Retrieved 11 October 2010.