Béla Hidvégi Hunting Foundation
The Béla Hidvégi Hunting Trophy Foundation was established by Béla Hidvégi in 2013 to maintain his exceptional trophy collection and exhibitions and help him realize his game conservation goals through international programs and educating the next generation.
The Foundation, aims – among other things – to widen the public’s understanding of the world’s exotic animals, the beauty and difficulties of hunting, and the need for wildlife conservation. To communicate and disseminate knowledge about hunting and the world’s wildlife, and to promote the founder’s heritage. Another main reason for its creation was to offer scholarships to students of wildlife management at universities. The Foundation was also set up with the foresight to protect the museums and collections by continuing to look after this unique heritage.
It is also to educate and train the younger generation in hunting through exhibitions in the museums created by the founder, and to bring non-hunting people closer to nature. To demonstrate the need for hunting within an official and regulated framework, its role in wildlife conservation and in the preservation of endangered species.
The Foundation has set up a scholasrhip for students of the Faculty of Forest Engineering of the University of Western Hungary and of the Faculty of Applied Sciences of the Szent István University of Gödöllő. Each year, the Foundation awards the scholarship to one student, thus supporting his/her studies and financial possibilities. The winner will be actively involved in the work of the museums and exhibitions organised by the Foundation. Through these practical activities, they will gain unique knowledge and experience that will play a key role in their professional development.
Béla Hidvégi gave an introductory speech in Ivan Carter’s wildlife conservation film “A Conservationist’s Cry” and an animated film for children about wildlife conservation. These films have been seen by more than 6 million people (in 6 countries) and have been shown at meetings of all European hunting organisations.
In 2019, in partnership with the Zambeze Delta Conservation and Anti-Poaching Foundation, the Foundation embarked on a surprisingly new and forward-looking activity, continuing the work they started a year ago with Ivan Carter and Mark Haldene in the Coutada 11 hunting block in Mozambique.
This unique concept of educating and employing local people so that they not only have to wait for outside donations, but can do much to better their lot themselves… The idea is that each village will be given at least 10 beehives, let the bees occupy the hive, look after them, take as much honey as they need, sell the rest on the market and use the money raised to fight poaching. There are already 70 beehives in the region.
The Foundation’s logo has been branded on each hive and the hives have been transported to Zambezi Delta Safaris in Mozambique.
The Foundation’s vice-president and a cameraman also traveled to Mozambique to film the fight against poaching, the distribution of the meat of the animals killed to local people, all the features of the special honey project we are launching and the reaction of the villagers.
There is a 5 part film that the Foundation has produced for screening here and in neighboring countries, it is already running and has been shown in 4 countries so far,
The 30-minute English – Hungarian version focuses exclusively on the Foundation’s conservation efforts and has received the widest media support yet.