Product Details
ALL PROCEEDS TO BE DONATED TO THE SCI (LONDON CHAPTER)
A TWO DAY / TWO NIGHT EUROPEAN BISON HUNT FOR TWO PEOPLE AT THE ERIKSBERG HOTEL AND NATURE RESERVE, SWEDEN,
To be taken between September 2018 - March 2019
Included:
Two days guided hunting for a single European Bison (2-3 years old) two nights five-star accommodation for two people sharing a double room with meals included. If required, a rifle and cartridges can be supplied, guide and tip included.
Not included:
Travel cost to and from Eriksberg Hotel and Nature Reserve, hunting license, gun entry permits, drinks, tips for the restaurant. The mount and shipping of the trophy. Insurance for the trip/hunt.
Provenance: Kindly donated by Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve, with all funds being donated to the Safari Club International London Chapter.
The retail value of this trip would be 10,000 euro.
We are also kindly provided with the following information giving some background on the Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve and its work in the preservation of the European Bison:
"The Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve in south-eastern Sweden is one of the biggest game enclosures in northern Europe and the biggest safari park in the Nordic countries. Already involved in the preservation of several endangered species, they are now working with another animal - the endangered European bison - Europe's biggest land living mammal.
A huge amount of work is under way to reintroduce the European bison into the wild in Europe and save it from extinction. This is possible after more than 80 years of intensive preservation work in the world together with international breeding work.
The European bison's at Eriksberg are part of this breeding work. In the game enclosure covering over nine square kilometres and a part of the UNESCO Biosphere Reserve Blekinge Archipelago and Nature 2000, there are 60 European bison, the biggest single breeding herd living in an enclosure, in a semi free ranging environment.
At Eriksberg there are also the native Chinese Père David's deer, our latest addition to the wildlife enclosure. It is extinct in the wild, and in autumn 2014, 19 Père David deer came here from an enclosure in southern England. After being in quarantine, they were released with the other animals in early summer 2016. The Père David's deer are an important part of Eriksberg's conservation work to save an animal that has been in the wild and hopefully will be again.
Over the years several of Eriksberg's bison have been reintroduced into the wild in the Carpathian Mountains in Poland. Others have been sent as breeding animals to other breeders in Sweden and the rest of Europe. In late December 2017, 17 European bison arrived from Sweden in Russia Oksky nature reserve as a part of efforts to re-establish bison populations and their genetic diversity in Russia. It is the largest herd travel of its kind and include WWF-Sweden, WWF-Russia, EBCC (European Bison Conservation Center) and Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve.
Today, Eriksberg is seen as one of the most important bison breeding centres. We partly have the nature photographer, author and zoologist Bengt Berg to thank for that. He bought Eriksberg in 1938 and started to fence in the area to research the red deer, and, since then, the facility has been a centre for wild animals.
Bengt Berg is probably best known for making the eagles a protected species in Sweden. He was also the one who introduced the Canada goose. At Eriksberg, he wanted to recreate nature and its variety of animal life, and today Eriksberg purpose is based on and protection of the animals, the nature and the biodiversity.
It was Bengt Berg's son, Iens Berg, who built the current enclosure, and he was also the one who brought the European bison to the game park. The first three came to Eriksberg in 1978: two from Kolmården Wildlife Park and one from Skåne Zoo.
The bison came very close to complete extinction in the beginning of the 20th century. Only 56 bison, of which 54 were fit for breeding, remained in zoos and enclosures around the world. They all descend from 12 animals, of which 2 came from Skansen in Sweden. Today, approx. 6000 bison are registered in the pedigree book. Of these, 4000 live in the wild in Poland, the Ukraine, Lithuania, Belarus and Romania.
The risk of extinction is still great, for the populations in captivity as well as in the wild. One of the greatest dangers is the genetic threat, i.e. the risk of inbreeding and some special individuals have to be removed from the breeding. Hunting revenue helps to preserve the international rescue work. Only a few animals are hunting and therefore it is one of the world's most exclusive hunting.
Facts about the European bison. Bison bonasus
The European bison, also known as the wisent, stands 180-195cm at the withers and a bull can weigh up to 900kg. It is vegetarian and eats mainly herbs, twigs and grass.
The European bison is a bovid animal, which means that it keeps the same horns all its life. The bison normally lives for about 20 years, but in captivity it can live to about 25-28 years. The bison is sexually mature at about 3 years. The mating season is usually in the autumn and the period of gestation is 250-270 days.
Facts about Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve: Like a wild African lodge in the south of Sweden. Eriksberg is one of Northern Europe's biggest game reserves and here you will meet wildlife on the animal's terms. Red deer, fallow deer, Père David's deer, wild boar, European bison and mouflons roam freely together. In the farm environment there are buildings from five centuries. Eriksberg offer accommodation with very high standard and top-notch restaurants where our own venison and fish from the area are the basis for everything that we serve. In a secluded part of the fenced area there is the residence Lily Croft, a hotel section which is 750 square meters and is particularly high standard and safety".
Literature: Further information about the Eriksberg Hotel & Nature Reserve can be found here: www.eriksberg.se
Other Notes: Safari Club International UK have kindly supplied us the following:
"Safari Club International are now represented in the UK with the launch of a new local Chapter, SCI London. The Chapter was formed in September 2017 by a small group of passionate hunters, riflemen and long-standing SCI members; whose ambition is to grow awareness of SCI in the UK, and promote the positive work SCI carries out towards hunting and conservation.
SCI London aims to continue Safari Club International's work by bringing together a network of like-minded individuals, to develop and support ethical sustainable hunting, grow the UK membership, and build awareness in the UK of how hunting supports conservation.
In our current times, awareness of sustainable and ethical hunting, and how it is necessary for wildlife conservation, is particularly important. With the rise of social media, fake and negative news, a single bad word against hunting (usually not backed up by science and facts) spreads fast, and can do serious harm to the industry. Hunters come under fire of the negativity and are targeted by hate campaigns.
In the UK in particular, general society seem to be disconnected to our roots as hunter gatherers. They have lost awareness and understanding for rural communities and their way of life. By growing the membership for Safari Club International and awareness for wildlife management, hunting, and conservation, SCI London are striving to bring a like-minded community together. Our aim: to educate general society with the facts, protect the hunters' way of life, and promote the conservation of British game.
Still in its early days, and with lots of work ahead to grow the Chapter membership (to 1000+ members), SCI London are delighted to be the recipient of the funds raised at Holts Auction for the European Bison Hunt, and extremely grateful to the Eriksberg Hotel and Nature Reserve for this very kind offer and opportunity.
The funds will surely help SCI London with its mission to grow the Chapter membership and awareness of hunting and conservation in the UK, alongside offering value to our members, increase our ability to proactively engage with the trade press, and assist and support conservation efforts in the UK.
For further information on SCI London or membership enquiries please contact the Chapter Secretary, Kerry Curtis chapteradmin@scilondon.com "
Please click HERE to view Terms & Conditions.
Estimate £7,000-9,000