The main reason people don't intercept beastmen in Bhaflau or Wajaom is the same reason people didn't go out to break mirrors: the effort and risk weren't worth the reward. Why risk your EXP out in the Woodlands when you can wait in Al Zahbi where there is no EXP loss, plus you get more drinks than you can shake a stick at?

One easy fix to this would be to put a "tags NPC" right outside Al Zahbi, maybe with some temp items. Of course, it would also be a kludge...