Gov. Neil Abercrombie Wednesday called "American Jungle," a show on the History Channel, a "fictional ‘reality’ production with no connection to actual hunters in Hawaii," while an official said the state was going to check whether any hunting regulations have been violated in the filming the series.
"Portraying our local hunters as primitives demeans our people and their contribution to subsistence and wildlife conservation," Abercrombie said in a statement. "If we discover any laws or regulations have been broken, we will vigorously pursue legal and/or criminal charges."
State officials said the series is inaccurate, offensive and possibly illegal.
Officials said "American Jungle" depicts clans fighting over trails to hunting grounds on public lands and inaccurately portrays public lands as having restrictive access.
William Aila, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the state enforces the hunting rules on public lands.
He said a film permit for "American Jungle" was denied because its officials failed to provide sufficient details to indicate the show’s content.
State officials were also worried about the illegal activities that might be depicted in the series, including night hunting, which is not allowed on state or private land.
Relativity Media, the Los Angeles-based producer of American Jungle, was unavailable for comment.
Hawaii island resident TJaye Forsythe, who helped develop the series, was also unavailable for comment.
But on his Facebook page, Forsythe said he and several others in his "blood clan" know the clan culture does exist and that "what we have found when doing further research is that an entire subculture of hunting exists within our outwardly visible culture," he said. "Things such as territorial struggles, family politics, prejudices etc. truly do exist within the hunting huis (clans) … "
Inga Gibson, Hawaii director of the Humane Society of the United States, criticized the show’s treatment of animals.
"The methods depicted violate core fair and ethical hunting principles, including preventing prolonged and unnecessary animal suffering," Gibson said.
