HUNTING FOR THE ZOOS

Southland Times, Issue 18622, 21 August 1919, Page 6

HUNTING FOR THE ZOOS

£I,OOO ELEPHANTS AND £1,200 GIRAFFES. A remarkable order for wild animals was received recently from a syndicate of United States sportsmen by the World’s Zoological Trading Company, a British firm. The order, the largest of its kind in zoological commerce, includes the following}— 15 Elephants 15 Lions. 8 Hippopotamuses 15 Leopards. 8 Rhinoceroses.' 14 Cheetah. 8 Giraffes. 35 Zebras. 35 Eland 15 Hartebeest. 15 Waterbucks. . 10 Billy goats. 40 Nanny goats. Also wild hogs and. monkeys. Mr H. E. Osborne a director of this firm, which thrives on a happy combination of business and adventure, stated recently that the American sportsmen making the purchase had bought large tracts of land and needed the animals for breeding. “We have a number of the animals in stock,” he said, “ready for immediate delivery.” “There is a general shortage of wild animals. The world’s zoological societies during the war have not been able to replace animals, birds, and insects that have died. Hundreds of thousands of big game were killed during the East African campaign. Big-game hunting, therefore, promises to be lucrative work for adventurous young men.” The following were stated to be the ruling prices ;-rElephant .. £I,OOO Zebra .. ... £IOO Rhinoceros £I,OOO Cheetah £6O to £7O Giraffe .. .. £1,200 Leopard .. .. £6O Lion (black Wild Dog .. £2O mane) .. £SOO Inferior types of lions were to be had at £IOO each, and a cheaper variety of elephants at £SOO. Freight rates were stated to be very high. A passage for a giraffe from Africa before the war, £3O, in May last cost £l5O, while the rate for a leopard was £6O, or the market value of the animal.