7th Annual Hunter & Outfitter Convention

Champagne Ballroom

Thursday, February 24 – 3 p.m.
Friday, February 25 – 8 a.m.

Grand Slam Club/Ovis executive director Dennis Campbell will lead an expert panel as hunting in Iran is discussed in depth at the 2011 GSCO convention on February 23-26. Dennis has written a book titled A Complete Guide to the Sheep and Ibex of Iran. He hunted Iran for nearly a month in 2003, and traveled the country from east to west, north to south. While on that trip, he visited and hunted numerous reserves set up pre-revolution (1979) and found them to have viable populations of the seven different sheep and two different ibex from that country. While researching the book, he interviewed dozens of people in Iran and also did extensive work concerning all aspects of the different trophy types in the country. Even though the majority of the book was written in 2003-04, the timing was not right for publication then. With the changes in 2010 for U.S. citizens to have the opportunity to import hunting trophies, now seemed to be the time to update the book and finally get it published. It will be available at the convention for the first time, and much of the information will be shared during the seminars.

Others who have agreed to be part of the panel are former Iranian citizens Soudy Golabchi, Reza Golsorkhi and Morad Tahbaz. Also on the panel will be David Laylin, who helped lead one of the major hunting companies in pre-revolution Iran, and John Jackson of Conservation Force, who has to be the most knowledgeable person about the laws concerning importation of trophies into the U.S. There will also be at least a dozen other GSCO members in attendance who have hunted in Iran over the last year or so. They certainly will be a great addition to help answer questions.

How many different sheep trophy types are there in Iran? How many are huntable, or have established huntable populations? How many different ibex can be found in Iran? What are the boundaries for the different trophy types of sheep and ibex? What are the most popular hunting reserves for the different sheep and ibex? When did it become legal for U.S. citizens to hunt in Iran? What about the Iranian embargo imposed by the U.S. government? How does it affect hunting and trophy importation?

All these questions, and many more, will be answered by the experts. Remember that the title for this seminar series mentions “myths, truths and consequences.” Can you, as an international hunter, afford to listen to people who have only heard from others? That is a dangerous way to go, and myths can get one into a heap of trouble. After this seminar series, you will know the truth and avoid any ill consequences.

Be there to participate in these two seminars, as well as several others. Check out our complete seminar lineup here.