A picture, taken in 2014, of a Somerset man "trophy-hunting" in South Africa and killing a baby giraffe has resurfaced following a report by a national newspaper.
The Times has reported on the "silent extinction" of giraffes and how the population is being greatly impacted by the trade surrounding "trophy hunting" and how many countries are saying the animal should be protected under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites).
Charlie Reynolds, 62, from Wells (reports The Times) killed a young giraffe on a trip organised by Umlilo Safaris, a South African company which offers “trophy hunts” and "management hunts" to shoot threatened species including elephants, rhinos, leopards and lions.
Mr Reynolds defended his position on hunting, claiming if there was no hunting in Africa there would be no animals.
He told The Times how he followed a young giraffe around a ranch in South Africa's Eastern Cape for a day before killing it with a single shot to the head.
“It was dead before it hit the ground,” said Mr Reynolds, who said he was "quite proud" of the kill in 2014, which cost him £500.
He also says campaigners "do not understand".
He said: “They see a picture and think, ‘He’s some cruel, horrible person’.
"If they did stop the hunting, there wouldn’t be any wild animals in Africa.”
But the reaction on social media has been vitriolic.
One Twitter user simply branded the Somerset man "sick" while another described him as "shameful".
There has even been a Twitter profile set up for the giraffe, under the user name Karma_Giraffe.
The giraffe is now less common in Africa then the elephant. As of 2016 there were only 97,000 giraffes compared to 416,000 elephants - a population widely known to be vulnerable.
Currently there are no international trade rules protecting giraffes, but six African nations have proposed measures which would mean records would have to be kept and the "sport" - as it is known - would be monitored.
The proposals will be discussed in Geneva, with delegates from 180 countries.
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