UAE resort in big game as hunters come to shoot
The roar of wild animals, tinkle of iced drinks under the stars and rifles jacked up against backpacks – it sounds like a passage from Ernest Hemingway’s classic safari journal Green Hills of Africa. But only a few miles from the capital in the deserts of Al Ain, people are legally hunting for trophy game such as Arabian oryx and gazelle.
Telal Hunting opened in 2015 and is based at the Telal Resort in Al Ain.
The 80-square-kilometre complex offers safari trips where guests can see these indigenous Middle East animals in the wild.
It is also the only place in the UAE where these animals can be hunted legally in their natural environment.
Hans Enslin is the hunting manager.
“Within our boundaries it’s legal to hunt,” he said at the Arabian Travel Market yesterday.
The operation is fully licensed by Abu Dhabi authorities and visitor numbers are growing. The season runs from October to March and from 25 paying hunters in 2015, at least 95 came this season – 70 of whom were from the GCC or Emirati.
Guests also come from Europe, Russia, the US, South America and Mexico.
People do not need shooting experience, but most do, and many have a military background. Every hunting guest, no matter what their expertise, is still taken to a shooting range under Mr Enslin’s supervision and if he believes the animals will not be killed cleanly, the shoot is cancelled.
“We don’t want to wound the animals and let them off into the desert because it’s not what we are about,” he said. In addition to the Arabian oryx, or maha in Arabic, there are the Arabian sand gazelle, or reem, and the Arabian mountain gazelle, or domani.
Telal Hunting provides all equipment. The area is fenced off from camels to protect the habitat and has been maintained as a natural desert.
If you are a GCC resident, it will cost about Dh3,700 to shoot a gazelle, while an oryx is about Dh37,000.
If you are not able to kill anything, you do not pay anything. Local guests can take home the meat and while international guests can not do this, some take home antlers as trophies.
“I can teach. I’ve taken people with no experience, even Emirati women,” said Mr Enslin, who is from South Africa and worked in the Kruger National Park as a ranger.
The hunting is one of many activities at the hotel. Also on offer is falconry, houbara hunting with falcons, safari drives, zip lines, sandboarding and archery. The hotel stay is separate but you do not have to stay at the hotel to hunt.
“This whole thing is based on conservation,” Mr Enslin said. “Animals are bred here, but roam freely. Only excess males are hunted.”
When I ask about him about whether killing animals for human pleasure was justified, Mr Enslin was firm that hunting allows these animals and their natural habitats to thrive. Otherwise the desert-like environment would simply not be able to sustain them in numbers, he said.
If the business model at Telal proves to be a success, Hans Enslin believes it will be the model for more resorts
“It’s an age-old argument we don’t need. But if it pays, it stays. Hunting is a tool in conservation to make habitat available. The more hunting you have, the more wild animals you have. It’s not just about the animal, but also the habitat.
“People buy fish in the market, but they don’t think about where it comes from.
“But when you see a photograph of a guy with a dead animal it becomes an emotional issue,” he said.
Whatever side of the argument you come down on, it is clear there is demand and business is growing. The operation is also present at the annual Adihex hunting exhibition in Abu Dhabi and Mr Enslin attends trade exhibitions across the globe.
Separately, the UAE is committed to conserving oryx and gazelle. Sir Bani Yas Island, for example, is just one protected area where they roam safely in their natural habitat.
“We are still building this [Telal resort] because hunting is viewed negatively across the world by some communities. This is the flagship model and if it works, hopefully there’ll be more,” Mr Enslin said.