FYI, for anyone that deals in the live exotic trade, there is a new auction company called Wildlife Management & Exchange, LLC (WMX) that will be holding their 1st Exotic Video Auction this weekend in Austin. I spoke to Mark (the owner) this morning and what they are doing is pretty revolutionary for the exotic trading industry!

The "auction barn" middle-man is removed from the equation, leading to higher profits for sellers, lower costs for buyers and less death-loss for everyone (always a good thing)! It just makes good sense for everyone (and the animals) involved.

Here is a link to their website where you can also find their updated consignment list for this weekend's auction (also be sure to check out the videos on the site to learn more about WMX) >>> WildlifeManagementExchange.com

I plan on attending the sale on Saturday. Anyone else heard about this event and planning on going as well? If so, see ya there!!

We were thinking about going but not looking to good.

Looks like a great company....and a great idea.

great idea...thought about going but decided not to. Somethings didn't add up for us. We will be a HLS though.

I need to tag along with you guys....I'll help y'all pick me out a good one.

So, do they send you a picture of the animal in the field? Then you agree to buy it, set up a time to meet them, and then they capture it?

It sounds similar to the EWA'a auction that they have in March. It works pretty well. We have bought and sold through this similar method before and I liked it a lot better than the auction ring experience. I probably will not be able to make this coming sale but maybe the next one. Although I need too because I need some axis bucks.

Yes, yes & yes. Pictures and/or video of the exact animals being auctioned. You bring the trailer to the (seller's) ranch, WMX has a capture co. that does the capture & once the animal(s) are loaded onto the trailer and the door shuts, the buyer assumes ownership of the animals. Cool deal.

Curtis is right, similar to the EWA Video auction format...though, correct me if I'm wrong, Curtis, they don't always have a pic of the EXACT animals being auctions, sometimes just a stock photo...?

How much or how do you know what the WMX Capture co. charges to catch one of your animals. If WMX kills one of your animals while they are trying to capture it are they responsible for the loss?

Yes I think you are right. I think they showed a few representative of the species in a picture. For example an axis herd with bucks does from the same ranch and use that for reference.

I generally deal only with axis and blackbuck. So my experiences with capture of some of the African game is limited. You can take what you want form my advice on capture of axis and blackbuck. In my opinion, axis are generally harder to hold for a good amount of time. So I don't know how that is going to work at WMX for that species. I mean when I get axis, I get them sold ASAP and delivered. I am comfortable holding them 24-48 hours or so in my barn with food and water ONLY if the temps are not going to get over say 85 degree's. But if its something like yesterday with 104 temps, no way am I moving them in 104 or holding them very long. I do not have an AC barn and trailer so I need to get them on the road and moving as soon as possible or just not move them at all when its this hot. I may try to hold 2 or three in independent cells in my barn during the evening if the temps are right at this time of year, but when its daylight they have to be on a trailer and moving out. If I don't do that I have found they just get too much stress. That is also why I prefer to have my axis caught, sold, and transported before the end of May. I always have plenty of food and water in the barn and its dark in the barn as well. They calm down pretty quick and are easier to handle this way. I can contain them for a little while but not too long. The heat is a factor on the stress of animals in my opinion. I just don't feel comfortable holding an axis deer for too long. In my opinion, I think I'm doing something right because to my knowledge I have not lost an animal due to stress that I have delivered to any of my customers.

I have lost some in my capture process but not in the last three years. The one time that I remember was with a axis buck that was following the rest of the group of does through a 4' wide exit in the alley way to go outside. He for some reason jumped and hit the pipe frame of the door. I have no clue why he did so because he was the last one to leave of a group of 8 or so and all the others just walked out calmly. If you trap and transport animals its going to happen sooner or later. Your dealing with a animal that you can not control but there are things you can do and that you learn to reduce the chances of harm to any animal. In our case, I removed a lot of the brush on the outside of that walkway(outside the trap near the door) and the animals can see farther out the opening. It seemed to fix the problem since I have not had it happen again. Another thing I learned was I put more tarp lower to the ground in our alley going to the barn. This really helped with our blackbuck capture because they tend to look down there and look out and only think about that when in our capture process. Now they go down the alley way really smooth and quick and we can section out what we need and release the rest back outside the capture pen. All of this can be done with just one person but it works best with two and I'm usually done in two hours or less and loaded on a trailer.

So with all of that being said, I don't know how I would capture an axis buck a week or so before the auction and hold it in this heat safely and not stressed until its sold. I just don't feel comfortable with that on axis deer. I prefer to capture and move them as quick as possible. The capture process that I uses catches a lot of axis at one time and allows me to work them with very few people and low stress. But it doesn't guaranty that I can get the bucks that I want to sell in there the first time. Sooner or later I do get them and sell them. But a particular one can easily choose to not go in the trap. They are not forced to go in, I don't chase them or dart them. Maybe that is why I seldom lose any.

I did make a call to Logan at WMX yesterday and I will say that I felt very comfortable talking with him about this auction. He stated the same kind of reasons that I felt for buying and selling animals at other places. I would feel comfortable buying and selling other species there and would love to see how this auction goes. I will have to make plans to attend the next one because I am wanting to learn more about it and talk with others about their experiences with it. Maybe going there I can learn a few other ways to hold axis bucks a little longer if needed but until then, I will stick to what I feel works best for the animals that I capture.

What does it cost to get in the door?

Do you pay at the auction or when the animal is on the trailer?

Nathan, No charge to attend & buyer pays for animals at the auction.

Nice to know, thanks for the post.

were there any ibex nannies? I and a friend are looking for some.

Anyone?

there were some on wildlifebuyer.com not long ago keep checking with that website and look around at auctions good luck.

Yeah I've seen some on there. Thanks man

Aaron-Ibex. I have a friend that may have some. PM me and I will send you Lance's contact info if you are interested.