Stop the Slaughter: Help Ban Canned Hunting of Exotic Animals in Texas

Across the United States, thousands of exotic animals, including zebras, kangaroos, antelope, wildebeest, and even endangered species, are being bred and raised on private ranches—not for conservation, but for killing. These non-native animals are confined within fenced enclosures where wealthy hunters pay thousands of dollars to shoot them and turn their body parts into gruesome trophies. Animals that are not bred directly on these ranches are often acquired at exotic animal auctions, while others used in these canned hunts are obtained from roadside zoos and circuses when they are no longer wanted. These animals, already subjected to lives of exploitation and suffering, face one final indignity: being discarded to be hunted and killed.

Texas is home to more of these operations than any other state, with an estimated 500 ranches offering “canned hunts” of exotic wildlife. This cruel industry turns the exploitation of wild animals into a business and strips away any notion of fair chase, as animals are enclosed on private land with no possibility of escape. The hunters who participate in this unethical practice pay enormous sums for the thrill of killing animals thousands of miles from their natural habitats. At one ranch in Texas, it costs $6,500 to kill a zebra, $12,000 to kill an Eld’s deer, $40,000 for a bongo, and $80,000 for a Cape buffalo. Many of these ranches operate under "pay only if you kill" policies, so the owners make it virtually impossible for their wealthy clients to leave empty-handed.

Because the animals hunted in these parks are killed for trophies, they are often shot in the abdomen to preserve the head, which results in slow, agonizing deaths. Some are killed with bows and arrows, a method that can cause extreme suffering and prolonged death from blood loss and internal injuries.

These operations are so twisted that some prominent pro-hunting organizations, such as the Boone and Crockett Club, have spoken out against canned hunts, condemning them as unethical and unsporting due to the lack of fair chase and the guaranteed outcome. It is also deeply disturbing that many of the individuals who frequent these hunting establishments specifically seek out the opportunity to kill endangered animals to check them off their murderous bucket lists.

Tragically, some of these ranches hold more members of certain endangered species than exist in the wild. For example, the scimitar-horned oryx, which was declared extinct in the wild in the early 2000s, has been bred in large numbers on Texas game ranches to be shot for sport.

Canned hunting is cowardly and cruel. Raising animals in confinement for the sole purpose of hunting and killing them is inhumane and has no place in a civilized society that claims to value animal welfare. Although it is illegal to kill endangered species in the United States, there are major loopholes in the law when it comes to the killing of captive-bred animals, and Texas, in particular, has very lax exotic animal and hunting regulations. This is unacceptable. It’s time for the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department to take a stand against this bizarre and brutal industry.

Take Action Now

Please join Species Unit in calling on the Texas Parks and Wildlife Department (TPWD) to outlaw canned hunts of exotic and endangered animals once and for all.