Targets for trophy hunters

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When the film starts it looks just like a travelogue: lovely images of London and the glorious English countryside mixed with some shots of majestic deer to add character to the promotion. Suddenly the background drum roll intensifies and men in camouflage appear with rifles walking through ancient oak forests. Seconds later the peace of this tranquil rural scene is shattered by the sound of gunfire and, one by one, the magnificent beasts fall to the ground.

The shocking one-minute sequence closes with a full-grown stag being shot in the neck, side on, with a spurt of blood marking the entry wound. Its head drops, its antlers turn down towards the grass, its knees buckle and it slowly falls - just one more casualty of a big-money global hunting operation centred on countryside around the village of Woburn in Bedfordshire and in Norfolk. Our investigation into trophy hunting shows the two men who run these particular hunts, a Texan and an Englishman, are charging astonishingly high fees for the pleasure of killing England's finest red stags. What they judge to be a world record-class animal carries a price tag of £25,000. The cost of shooting a slightly smaller red stag falls incrementally from £18,500 down to £3,500.

Two men are charging astonishingly high fees for the pleasure of killing England's finest red stags

The organisation behind the shoots is a professional outfit, packaged to suit wealthy Americans who enjoy the "canned hunting" experience so despised by animal lovers. At the heart of the operation is Aaron Bulkley, a 41-year-old father of one, and Englishman Alex Hinkins, a well-known stalker in the hunting world. After studying at the University of Texas Business School, Bulkley worked as a sales agent for a ticket agency while perfecting his computer graphics skills. He was so good at organising ticket sales he travelled the world, selling tickets to blue-chip events such as the FIFA World Cup and the Rugby World Cup.



Alex Hinkins posing with a 'trophy'

A passionate hunter, he later set up the Texas Hunt Lodge, which offers hunts for "60 species of exotic wildlife". Now he has set up Europehunts.com, which he owns, but works with Alex Hinkins, who litters social media with shots of himself and other hunters with the bodies of recently despatched animals. On the website now is a picture of a man holding the horns of a huge deer. A rifle with a telescopic site is placed over the neck of the deer - proudly.

BIG BUCKS: Aaron Bulkley

The caption reads: "New World Record Red Stag in England. On our November group hunt from Texas Aaron Bulkley and guests hunted for five days both in Woburn and Norfolk. It was in Norfolk they put down some monster fallow deer." The record red stag was also killed in Norfolk, the website says. Woburn Abbey was quick to distance itself from any suggestion the hunters used their land, saying : "It is highly likely that this party was hunting in the Woburn area with no connection to the Bedford Estates." Chinese water deer and muntjac have established populations in the wild, they added.

Alex Hinkins litters social media with shots of himself with bodies of recently despatched animals

In the slick video Bulkley boasts that he has been awarded "guide of the year" and "outfitter of the year" titles many times and has hunted more than 150 world-class species in the past eight years. He also explains why he is now targeting this country as a hunting location. Warming to this theme, he says: "At Europehunts.com we are hunting all over England. We've got accommodation to fit anyone's desired needs, everything from a 17th-century inn, which might be two or three star, all the way up to four star or maybe even a castle, depending on your group. "What we have in England are some species you can't hunt anywhere else in the wild or estate. We have some of the largest red stag, the world-record Chinese water deer, the muntjac. This is a destination for all hunters to fulfil some of their European slams."

On his partnership with with Alex Hinkins, he says: "He's been hunting all of his life in England. He's been rated as one of the top-rated stalkers in the country." Hinkins tells the hunting community watching the video: "Our hunting varies in England. We will do spot and stalk. We will do a hike. "Depending on what estate we hunt we will be hunting in redwood forest or in the oak forest. They can be challenging compared to some of the destinations around the world. Typical Bedforshire is rolling hill countryside, nothing too crazy. If we push on up to Norfolk it is a very flat county. It is very easy going for the hunter." In America's hunting world, there is a craze to go back to the old days when metal balls were put down muzzles and then fired with gunpowder.

Another company is offering hunting packages in the deer park at Woburn Abbey

Now Hinkins is offering a modern version of the same method in England. In a matter-of-fact, homely style he says in the video: "We tend to be a rifle hunting country but recently we've introduced the muzzle-loader. "I was lucky enough to be granted the opportunity to be the only agent in England who can offer muzzleloader hunts and that's already paying off, with records already being set." Then the camera pans to a group of hunters eating a feast of the animal they have just shot. Hinkins sells the moment with this commentary: "One of the pleasing things to me is proving to you guys that England actually does know how to cook. We have fantastic meals with all of our clients."

As well as red stags, Chinese water deer and muntjacs, fallow and sika, he also offers hunts for roebucks in the summer months and particular types of rams with magnificent horns. At one stage in the video Hinkins adds: "We've got amazing red stags that we offer here, wild and estate parked." Hunting grounds in England range from "centuries-old estates hunted by royalty even today, to private English forests." Fees for shooting a muntjac are £1,150, a Chinese water deer costs more at £1,850 and a soay ram will set back a hunter £1,250. Last month it was revealed that another company was offering hunting packages at the 3,000-acre Woburn Abbey Deer Park.

Alex Hinkins and unknown man with Red Stag

Woburn said in response it was not affiliated to the travel company. But it said in a statement: "One of the most important management aspects of the deer park is the annual cull. The cull is overseen by professionals to ensure a healthy and sustainable population within the park. "The cull is based on continued census counts and aims to improve age dynamics and diversity, maintaining the population density at a level suitable to ensure the continued health and welfare of the deer within the park."

'Kiling animals and posing with the corpses of the victims is repulsive and has no place in a modern society'

There are pockets of private land near the park owned by other people in which hunting also takes place. Europehunts.com's brazen selling has shocked and appalled animal lovers and anti-hunting groups. Chris Luffingham, director of campaigns at the League Against Cruel Sports, says: "It is sickening to know that trophy hunting is taking place here in the heart of the UK and that Woburn is profiting from this vile activity. "Killing animals and posing with the corpses of the victims is repulsive and has no place in a modern and compassionate society. "We are a nation of animal-lovers and people will be outraged that hunters are coming in from overseas and shooting them for fun."

Alex Hinkins with Hog Deer