Trophy hunting in Zambia, South Africa, Namibia, and Zimbabwe is legal, and these places have become popular destinations for people who like killing animals for no other reason than sport.
An American hunter named Tess Thompson Talley has received a lot of backlash for posting a selfie with a dead black giraffe—considered rare because of its unusually dark-colored, almost black spots.
The photos were taken in South Africa and feature the extremely proud Texan hunter showing off her recent kill, while the dead animal is folded over and its face is dug into the floor.
A lot of people were outraged at the woman’s selfies:
White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe coutrsey of South Africa stupidity. Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share pic.twitter.com/hSK93DOOaz
— AfricaDigest (@africlandpost) June 16, 2018
So Tess Thompson Talley, you managed to shoot a sedentary Giraffe – go you!!
RT if trophy hunting disgusts you!!#BanTrophyHunting NOW!! pic.twitter.com/Y6IojWTmZ5
— PROTECT ALL WILDLIFE (@Protect_Wldlife) July 11, 2017
Some people on Twitter started dragging Talley through the mud, sharing photos of her other kills that she posted on her Facebook account.
Some people don’t deserve this world. Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. pic.twitter.com/jaT8M2mdWn
— Malcolm Acheampong (@Malcolm_Ach) June 15, 2018
https://twitter.com/nina_sisemore/status/1007677451537997826
Others brought some interesting insights to the table:
If the government cannot care about its citizens my dear what makes you think they even give two flying doves about an animal. Until we see the value of what we have then we will never appreciate
— Tired Junubi (@TiredJunubi) June 17, 2018
https://twitter.com/ma_Ndosi/status/1008293693755969537
About 1.7 million trophies were traded in the between the years 2004 and 2014, according to Discover Wildlife.
Out of those, 200,000—or roughly 20,000 per year—belonged to animals that are classified as threatened by the IUCN.
In Africa, Kenya and Botswana have totally banned hunting for sport. In Australia, France and the Netherlands, importing of lion trophies is now considered illegal, while the UK is still on the fence regarding this matter.
Talley’s photos are just the most recent reminder of the bigger issue of wildlife conservation that’s dividing Africa today.
If our so called governments can't care for our wildlife then its time we stand up and responsibility of our continent, lands, resources and wildlife….share share share! and lets have a united voice against pillage of Africa, it's the only home we have
— AfricaDigest (@africlandpost) June 17, 2018