By Steve Friess
LAS VEGAS (Reuters) - Outraged by a Las Vegas company that claims to offer
men a chance to stalk and shoot naked women in the Nevada desert with
paintball guns, women's groups and government agencies were scrambling to
find a way to shut down such "Bambi" hunts.
"As soon as I found out about this, I called for an investigation," Las
Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said. "Las Vegas is a place where anything goes,
but this crosses the line if this is real."
Real Men Outdoor Productions Inc., insists it is doing nothing illegal and
only providing another variety of adult entertainment in a city celebrated
for sin.
But critics, some of whom maintain that the hunts may be a hoax to drum up
publicity for sales of a "Hunting for Bambi" video, say it should be shut
down.
The company has a Las Vegas business license to sell a $20 video of hunters
chasing nude women through the woods as a spoof on hunting videos that
feature men hunting deer.
That video was staged, Real Men spokesman David Krekelberg said, but it gave
rise to the idea of hosting hunts with paintball guns and charging men
$10,000 for such weekend tours.
Krekelberg said the company has so far hosted 18 "Bambi" hunts in
undisclosed locations around Las Vegas. In each, a hunter faces off with two
women dressed in nothing but sneakers, each of whom receive $1,000 and can
earn up to $2,500 if they make it through the hour without being struck by
the paintball, he said.
But Jodi Tyson, director of the Nevada Coalition Against Sexual Violence
called the "Bambi" hunts offensive, dangerous and exploitative.
The world's largest paintball products maker, Brass Eagle Inc, has also
protested the hunts.
The U.S. Bureau of Land Management (news - web sites) is also looking into
speculation that the hunts have taken place without permits on public
property. About 90 percent of Nevada is owned by the federal government.
"In our patrol of the lands, if they're out there without a permit and we
find them, we would cite them," BLM spokeswoman Jo Simpson said.
Krekelberg denied that any of the hunts had occurred on federal property,
saying only that they occur on private estates in southern Nevada. He
refused to say where out of fear of sabotage, noting that "there are nuts
out there who would come in and throw a wrench in there."
He also asserted the women were not being mistreated, noting that they can
wear goggles and helmets for protection if they wish.
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