The Indian media is abuzz with the arrest of professional golfer Jyoti Randhawa, who was arrested for allegedly poaching in the Motipur range, an area that is protected at the Dudhwa Tiger reserve. Mr. Randhawa was apparently caught with skin of endangered animals and riffles and hunting gear in his possession, all of which are illegal in India.

This is not the first incident of the rich and famous being arrested for poaching. According to Washington Post, Earlier this year, the popular Bollywood star Salman Khan was sentenced to 5 years in prison for poaching antelope. After a legal battle that lasted nearly 20 years, a prominent Bollywood actor once seen by many as above the law was convicted of poaching two endangered blackbuck antelopes and sentenced to five years in prison.

Poaching in Indian forests is a major game of cat-and-mouse with a small band of underpaid and overworked forest department officials trying hard to guard dwindling parcels of forest land. They occasionally catch a few bad apples while many get away. Landing the rich and famous in the net makes for sensational news, but this doesn’t seem to deter a percentage of folks like Mr. Jyoti Randhawa who think they can get away with it.

Opportunity for American ‘Hunting Tours’ to fill the void by attracting rich Indians?

Setting aside the moral and ethical dilemma of hunting wildlife, one can perhaps look to the West, especially America. The United States, with large tracts of land and rather liberal gun laws has turned legal-hunting into a major industry in some American states.

In the United States, regulation of hunting is primarily performed by state law; additional regulations are imposed through Federal environmental law regarding migratory birds (such as ducks and geese) and endangered species. A map of total hunting licenses purchased in the United States in 2017. Like many licenses, a hunting license is considered a privilege granted by the government, rather than a constitutional right under the Second Amendment. (Wikipedia)

Even a cursory googling of “hunting tours America” brings up hundreds of entrepreneurs and companies providing guided and un-guided Hunting trips. For example, Montana Guided Big Game Hunting claims “We offer:  mule and whitetail deer hunts, archery elk hunts, archery whitetail hunts, wilderness elk hunts, wilderness multi-weapon hunts, wilderness combination big game hunts, spring and fall black bear, horseback hunts, lodge hunts, mountain lion hunts, moose hunts and goat hunts.” 

Superstars like Salman Khan and sportsmen like Jyoti Randhawa and thousands of rich closet-hunters from India are ideal clientele for hunting tour operators. They are interested in hunting and can surely afford a plane ride to the US.

Any entrepreneurs out there tapping this market?

References

• Jyotinder Singh Randhawa (born 4 May 1972), also known as Jyoti Randhawa, is an Indian professional golfer who was ranked in the top 100 of the Official World Golf Ranking several times between 2004 and 2009
• Golfer Jyoti Randhawa held for poaching in Dudhwa tiger reserve – Times of India
• Professional golfer and his caddie arrested for poaching at a tiger reserve – Golf Digest
• 5W1H: Golfer Jyoti Randhawa arrested for alleged poaching at UP – ZeeNews