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0204-matthew-mcconaughey-family-3

“[Actor] Matthew McConaughey has a side business,” tmz.com reports, “letting people onto his property to hunt caged-in animals, and it has enraged animal rights activists.” Caged-in? Animals? “Someone connected with the LP Ranch tells TMZ there are 22,000 acres for the animals to roam, but animal rights groups claim the deer hang by the feeding area, which makes them easy targets.” I wonder if anti-hunting groups have a specific number in mind. You know: it’s not hunting unless the deer have a 51 percent chance of escaping. Of course, that also depends on the hunter’s accuracy. Maybe we should handicap hunters! (Shades of Harrison Bergeron.) Anyway, Matt’s rep eventually reached out to TMZ . . .

The actor’s nephew, Madison McConaughey — the ranch cattle manager — tells TMZ they’ve had death threats from people who don’t understand the nature of what they do. He says, “People are disgusted with us but we’re disgusted with them.”

Madison adds, people who come there do so for the “hunting experience” and he says “We’re proud of what we do.”

Another ranch manager tells us, “No meat goes to waste after the hunts. It helps feed our families.”

12:15 PM PT — Matt’s rep got back to TMZ and said he hasn’t owned the ranch since 2011. The website to the ranch, however, still lists Matt as “co-owner.”

Way to throw your family under the bus. As an adoptive Texan, Matthew McConaughey and the phrase “all hat and no cattle” are now inexorably linked in my mind. Yours?

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67 COMMENTS

  1. I don’t get your critique RF. Maybe Mr. Alright has no day to day connection to this ranch. And there is no mention of ceasing the hunts…

  2. WoW…. Such non-story. Much yawn . You would think he LIED for years about getting shot down in Iraq. Stay on target.

  3. Living in the Rocky Mountains and being an avid hunter I hate to say it but I find the caged hunting areas pathetic. Money makers yes, sporting…not so much? Not the one’s I’ve been too. My son got married at a lodge on a big caged elk hunting ranch. While there for the wedding the owner said feel free to go up and see the elk. So we did, I’ve hunted elk all my life, never seen any elk you could drive right up to and scratch their ears…until then. A year or so later I saw a tv episode of a hunt on this very same ranch. Oh boy was that entertaining. They drove the poor sucker out to the middle of no where, made him climb up a moutain and be quiet and take a good long shot. He thought it was sporting, little did he know he could have driven right to the elk and hit it over the head with a hammer if he so desired. But that’s just my 2 cents worth. I will only hunt free ranging wild game.

      • But there is a deer “feeding” area where the deer congregate. They are semi-tame and easy to blow holes into by impotent troglodytes with big guns and teenie peenies. Every one of those deer is infinitely more beautiful and innocent than most humans could ever be.

    • 22,000 acres high fenced is not pen hunting. Looking at the website I see fences around feeders to keep hogs out. Nothing that would slow down a deer.

      I also cannot find any mention of Matthews name. Still looking though.

    • Uh so are any of the three replies here from hunters?

      The ranch may be 22K acres, but if the game are being fed and watered reliably from a central location, they’re not going to stray very far at all. They’ll live within their own self-imposed cage.

      I have no interest in hunting on any of these managed fed-game ranches, even if I had the money to do so.

      • I feel the same way. My father took me Pig hunting in Texas at this ranch where they drive you into a single digit acre enclosure and put some corn down. It was more like shopping at a butchers with a rifle in hand than like I imagine actual hunting is

        • Wild pigs are over running huge areas of the south, and moving north steadily, so killing them as efficiently and effectively as possible is the only answer.

      • Again, it is not “caged” hunting. Sorry you can not grasp that concept. I grew up in south MS and we did crop damage deer hunting, and now pig hunting, because huge deer population destroys crops. If you really think 22,000 acres is “caged” hunting you are a lost cause.

        • As several people have stated and some witnessed, the issue is that the animals are not afraid of humans. The animals have basically been hand fed and then they are betrayed by those that they have come to trust. When you can walk up and pet these animals it is not hunting. These animals will go where humans are because humans mean food. For wild animals, humans mean danger and they run. I was born, raised and still live in Texas and I am ashamed that these ranches are here. I grew up in a small town where everyone hunted, it was a part of life. Every hunter I have ever known thinks these ranches are disgusting and they call the so-called hunters cowards. Hunting is roughing it like in deer season it’s freezing your butt off for hours tracking a WILD deer waiting and hoping that one will come close enough for a shot. Not going out where you are guaranteed a kill then killing a hand fed animal that’s more like a pet and not even getting your hands dirty. The dictionary says that hunting is “the activity of chasing and killing WILD animals or game, especially for food or sport” and wild is defined as living or growing independently of people, in natural conditions, not domesticated or cultivated. untamed, undomesticated, feral; fierce, ferocious, savage, untamable. So bottom line, what these ranches do is not hunting and the so-called trophies these people get are paid for not hunted.

  4. Well, either he’s an owner or he’s not. Maybe we oughta clear that up first.

    The idea of shooting farm-raised deer from 400 yards has always kinda puzzled me. If you’re gonna raise them like cattle, then why not herd them into a pen, onto a truck and haul them to the packing plant like cattle? Seems like that would be a lot more efficient.

  5. I really don’t care what actors/actresses/sports figures/etc., think, say or do.
    They don’t live in the same world that I live in.
    Plumbers, mechanics, electricians opinions carry more weight with me…

    • This. The little lady and I argue about this all the time. She seems to think being an actor or musician makes what they do worth more. I don’t give a rat’s rump what people who pretend to be something else do or say, be they celebrities or politicians.

      • Exactly. Those pecker-heads are here to entertain us. No real value in the grand scheme of things.
        Who are you going to call when your toilet is stopped up or your car doesn’t start or you lose power at your house?

      • Actors are paid liars. They bring to life fake characters through emotional manipulation. The most famous and well paid actors are the best liars.

  6. My granddaughter and wife have deer that come up and eat out of their hands off the back porch, I would be in big trouble if I shot one of them other than in a survival situation. Those game ranches in Texas are necessary because I don’t think there is much if any public land to hunt on in most of the state. But still sitting in some box on a windmill tower doesn’t appeal to me much.

  7. Not a fan myself of that kind of hunting. My nephew is very well off , he hunts free range but also goes to Texas.

    His one son was 10 or 11 when he took him. They sat in a box blind while the kid played video games till a big enough buck came to the feeder. The kid put down the game picked up a rifle and shot a 150 class deer. Ho hum.

    When the kid can walk in the woods, scout it over a period of time, read the sign , figure out where they eat and bed, find a good inside corner or funnel, set up a stand according to the routes, wind and thermals , get in ahead of the deer by using the wind, and put an arrow through the boiler room , I’ll be proud.

    • Since there are barbed wire fences, it is a “cage”…just a damn big one. doesn’t matter that the deer have no problems at clearing a five foot fence in a single bound.

  8. I believe this is very easy, in order to work in the entertainment industry it is easier if you adopt their religion and their beliefs even if they differ from yours. You must be part of herd or be ostracized from the herd, Which makes perfect sense, since entertainment is all make believe, they can be fake people both on screen and off screen.

    I guess Matthew McConaughey was afraid he would not be allowed to make anymore Cadillac commercials or something.

  9. It’s all about spin. It’s a cattle ranch. There are feeding stations for the cows. The deer, sensing an opportunity, also feed at the feeding stations. There is a fence around the ranch. Therefore it is a “caged hunt.” Sure, I buy that. I’ll trade you for this bridge….

    So to avoid the “bad press,” I guess they have to let the cows starve….Sounds like a good business decision to me….

    • Not quite. They have feeders set up to attract deer, and then charge folks to come and shoot ’em. The cattle won’t starve, because the feeders aren’t for them.

      Not my idea of hunting, but I’m certainly not going to get all worked up over it, either.

  10. Non-story. I don’t understand the issue with hunters taking game on these arranged caged hunts. Its not for me but its no worse than going to the grocery store.

  11. Hunting a ranch slightly larger than the island of Manhattan is “canned” now, huh?

    I guess if there were no people on it, and I hunted deer there, it wouldn’t be fair chase because of the East and Hudson rivers “trapping” the deer.

    Ya just can’t make this stuff up.

  12. First, “ranches” like this don’t have animals in cages for people to shoot. Are there a$$holes who do that sort of sh*t? Yes. And they get busted for that stupid crap. Secondly? Mr McConaughey blew this. He could have stood up like a man, one who owns his own production company and is a much sought after commodity on both sides of the camera, and owned it. He has always been a bit “fish lying on hot pavement” like on most issues, over the years. Don’t think he has to worry overly much about work, or royalties being paid. And after Dallas Buyers Club I think he could use a nice, long sabbatical. Perhaps filming some PSAs about hunting?

  13. Due to the lack of rain in some parts of Texas ranches have become more dependent on hunting leases for profitability. I talked to one fellow that said he used to make most of his income from cattle but now he gets a large portion from guiding feral hog hunts on his property. Hogs have became a large problem in his area he said his neighbor had resorted to eradicating them with a helicopter, While some might not think deer ad hog hunting are alike I would like to remind you just how dangerous a angry hog can be LOL

  14. Being from the area, even growing up in a ranching family with land just down the highway, I don’t think there’s much to this. It’s not unusual for several $ guys to go in and own one of these high-fence ranches and not really have any hands-on day-to-day responsibilities. It’s an investment, and for McConaughey (from what the locals say) a way to keep in touch with his roots. I’d give him no guff for that. Further, if he isn’t sole owner and there are other investors, this may be a way of shielding them in addition to shielding his acting opportunities.

    As far as “all hat, no cattle” in West Texas, that’s more a role for Tommy Lee Jones, who has a pretty bad rap among neighboring ranchers…though his is in the even more deer-thick region of Texas than Mertzon. Sounds like another story for the slithering thugs at TMZ.

  15. “had death threats from people who don’t understand the nature of what they do…”

    Bull. they understand the nature of what you’re doing. They just don’t like it.

    Anytime something is called “The (whatever) Experience” I get a laugh.

    • This is how ranchers make money to keep their land intact, which makes for more wildlife habitat. The people who are against this are flaming idiots.

  16. So it’s bad to hunt for deer on 20000 acres, but it alright to round up the cattle push them down a chute and pop them in the head to make Big Macs. Okay then, got it.

  17. Anti gun groups are too stupid to see an enclosed hunting area means fewer hunters wandering the forests in their areas. In a way, an area as such is a gun control area. They just hate all guns, except when they need one to save their own lives.

  18. Handicap the hunter, you say? I’ve been thinking about trying out a regular javelin. Atlatls are too easy, and bows are practically WMDs in the woods.

  19. glad to see how may people here who jump at the chance to P1zz on all those other hunters who aren’t as noble as they are . McConaughey can say whatever he needs to to stay employed. but we should not drag this out by going after each other. TMZ is probably laughing their collective azz off at us her trying to define ” fair chase ” in a way that they would approve of and calling each other names.

  20. Adoptive Texan? He was born in Uvalde. Comes back here every so often too.

    Dale Evans – wife of Roy Rogers – was also born here. No one ever questions her credentials even though Roy was born in Cincinnati.

  21. I’m not going to be drawn into a circular firing squad amongst my fellow POTG defending a Hollywood actor, or his critics. He is a big boy and has paid reps for that.

    I do know that hunting deer on your own land is and has been legal for a long time.
    When you hunt with a permit on public land, its called game management.

    And note that deer, and especially wild pig, carry diseases that are very bad for cattle, and the neighbors cattle, and reducing the native carriers numbers keeps the survivors healthy, and disease free. As does water in the drought, and feeders for good nutrition for the animals you do cull. Corn fed is much tastier venison… and if the families of the ranch help get burgers out of the deal, whats not to like?
    Much better than factory farmed beef or pig, thats for sure.

    I crack up over these holier-than-thou PETAns*, knowing they will be sneaking a McDonalds, in between their fancy yogurts, both food products coming from the same source.

    Unless they are raising their own food, including free range cattle, they are hypocrites.
    Dont mess with Texas!

    * People Eating Tasty Animals.

  22. Fair chase is the only way to hunt and take Big Game!

    There is a reason that animals killed at these canned “hunt” facilities are not eligible for the Boone & Crockett or Pope & Young record books.

    Deer farms are also breeding grounds for CWD which threatens the free-range deer herd everywhere.

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