Knoxville News Sentinel columnist on canned hunting

August 24, 2008

http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/aug/24/wheres-the-sport-in-this-hunting/

McElroy: Where's the sport in this hunting? By Jack McElroy Sunday, August 24, 2008

Wouldn't it be fun to be able to shoot animals in a zoo? You could take careful aim at a zebra or, maybe, an oryx, and - BAM! - plug it while it was just standing there. Then you could pose with the carcass and have the head mounted and hung on the wall of your den. Cool, huh? What a great way to impress the guys from the office when they came over for beers. Of course, most other zoological parks take a dim view of visitors killing the animals - even the nonendangered ones. So sportsmen looking for impressive trophies but disinclined to chase uncooperative prey must look elsewhere. Meet Robert Haun. The Grainger County entrepreneur is developing Clinch Mountain Hunting Adventures, where shooters can experience the thrill of the kill without the hassle of the hunt. "Your average hunting stops here," boosts Haun's Web site. Does it ever. When it opens, Haun's 64-acre park (10 acres bigger than the Knoxville zoo) will offer clients the chance to bag the "trophy of a lifetime" without the exertion of actually moving around very much. Nifty wooden towers will provide shady spots to wait for beasts to amble into easy range. What a selection of beasts there will be! On the menu for the "guaranteed hunts" are Russian boars, a variety of rams and deer, black buck antelope, bison, elk, zebras, oryx and watusi (a kind of African longhorn cattle). The fun doesn't come cheap, though. Besides the cost of a bullet, the price of slaughter will range from $650 for a low-grade boar to $10,000 for a top-of-the-line Pere David's deer. There's a discount for taking "multiple trophies," though, and kids get $125 off the sticker price. The adventures go beyond shooting. The resort offers boating and jet skis. "We also specialize in family fun," the Web site says. Located "forty five minutes from Knoxville, Dollywood, Pigeon Forge and Gatlinburg. These attractions are great for fun and shopping." Although the facility hasn't opened, the fur already is flying. Pesky animal lovers are petitioning the Tennessee Wildlife Resources Commission to can the canned hunts. In last Sunday's paper, outdoors writer Bob Hodge reported on the controversy, and several readers posted comments to his story online. Some folks were disgusted: "This is about blowing away God's creations for no other purpose than to say 'I killed it.' Just because it's legal doesn't mean it's right." Others argued that Haun should be free to do what he wants with his property: "Ya' know, it is Haun's land and he is working with the correct state and federal government agencies to insure he is doing it 'by the book.' If city folk want to come out and use his facility, they can - after all, it is a legitimate business." For my part, it seems as though running a business like that carries its own reward. If Haun's plans go through, he'll make his living by catering to the whims of people who would pay big bucks to shoot animals in a virtual zoo and would bring their families along for the fun. His happy hunting grounds sound like hell to me. Jack McElroy is editor of the News Sentinel. He may be reached at 865-342-6300, at editor or through his blog, The Upfront Page at http://blogs.knoxnews.com.

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