![]() ![]() Historic firearms, which can be shot by visitors, are displayed on a wall at the living military museum at the Ox Ranch. Owners sell to other owners, sometimes through auctions where animals are shocked and prodded into compliance. All of Ox Ranch’s exotics, for instance, came from inside the US. The industry doesn’t deplete or destroy a naturally occurring population instead, it creates its own populations to use for breeding and gun fodder. “Literally just Google Texas exotic hunting ranch, and you will get pages, and pages, and pages of results,” Hagio says.Įxotic ranches are a universe unto themselves, self-controlled and largely self-sustaining. The Humane Society of the United States estimates that there are around 500 captive hunting operations in Texas, and more than a thousand nationwide. So instead of sheep or goats, landowners are turning to bongos and kudus. Ranchers need to make money – and exotic animals offer a steady revenue stream. Theirs is far from the only enterprise of its kind in Texas, a state where more than 95% of the land is privately owned and property taxes are high. ![]() It’s a promise with low stakes, since they’re convinced it will never happen.Ī wildebeest rug displayed in the 6,000-sq-ft lodge. According to Texas Parks and Wildlife, exotic animals can be harvested “by any means or methods at any time of year”.īut Molitor and Oxley have both said they’d end the hunting portion of their operations if anyone was willing to send them the millions a year it takes to maintain their ranch. “So these ranches bear zero resemblance to traditional hunting, and there’s just nothing ethical about shooting a captive animal.”Īmid a complex tapestry of state laws around exotic animals and canned hunts, Texas sits along the more lenient end of the spectrum. “These animals are literally being bred for the bullet, and then they’re stocked and shot within these fenced enclosures, where they have no chance of escape,” explains Samantha Hagio, director of wildlife protection for the Humane Society of the United States. He suggests that the area’s sweeping acreage blunts any advantage to hunters – and yet unlike in the wild, it’s rare for someone to leave without making a kill. Photograph: Tamir Kalifa/The GuardianĪt Ox Ranch, Molitor likes to think of the facility’s high fences as a management tool. Please check the website for any updates before your visit.Ox Ranch CEO Jason Molitor. Note: Due to the pandemic, all tickets must be booked online prior to your visit. Each person will get one cup of animal feed. The price for a Public Guided Tour on one of Fossil Rim's touring vehicles is $39.95 per person for guests age three and older. One cup of animal feed is included with the ticket. The price is $24.95 per person for a one hour, self-guided drive-thru experience. They’ve even reintroduced species back into the wild, like the scimitar-horned oryx in Chad in 2016. While Fossil Rim offers an almost unending list of educational activities for its guests, the center’s main focus is on conservation of species in peril. ![]() It takes a couple hours to drive through the park, but there’s so much more on offer here, including 14 different tours (a bike tour and a Murder Mystery tour), photo workshops, tasty burgers at the Overlook Café, and even cool accommodations like the lodge, cabins, and bunkhouses. This 1,800-acre ranch is an oasis for 1,100 animals from almost 50 different species, but it also happens to have the largest cheetah breeding facility in the world, raising 18 to 20 cubs each year. to 4:30 p.m. | $24.95 per person $19.95 for kids 2 and under are free ![]()
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