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A woman whose photo of a giraffe on the hunt became viral last year said that despite the shock that she had suffered, she continues to hunt and remains proud of her hobby.
Tess Thompson Talley, of Kentucky, spoke Friday with CBS of the giraffe that she chased to South Africa in 2017, which ended up becoming viral last year when pictures of her hunt were put online.
Trophy hunting is a legal practice in a number of African countries, including South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
"It's a hobby, it's something I like a lot," Talley told the network.
IMAGES OF THE AMERICAN HUNTER OF HIS "TROPHY KILL" BLACK GIRAFF SPARK OUTRAGE
"I'm proud to hunt," she added. "And I'm proud of this giraffe."
Tess Thompson Talley unleashed a firestorm on this photo of a giraffe that she hunted in 2017. She told CBS on Friday that the hunt was specifically meant for conservation efforts.
(Tess Thompson Talley)
Talley told the point of sale that she had eaten the giraffe's meat and made decorative pillows and a rifle case with the help of her skin.
She explained that the specific hunting trip that caused so much turmoil was actually part of conservation efforts to manage wildlife in a specific area. Although she is not an ecologist herself, she uses her hobby to "do my part," she said.
"Everyone thinks the easiest way is to pull the trigger, and that's not the case," she added. "It's the hardest part, but you gain so much respect and appreciation for that animal because you know what it's going through. They're put here for us. We harvest them, we eat them. "
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She reiterated that if her hunt did not contribute to conservation efforts, she would not participate.
"Just shoot the animals just to shoot them, and it does not help?" she told CBS. "No."
Talley also said that posing with his death is part of a hunting tradition.
"Images are a tradition that hunters have created well before social media," she said. "When social media appeared, it was at that time that there was a problem."
Despite the negative reactions she received from these photos – including from people trying to get fired – she told CBS that she "hunted" absolutely.
On Friday, Fox News solicited Talley's advice, but had no immediate response.
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Talley's photos became viral after the Twitter account Africa Digest tweeted photos of Talley and the giraffe.
"An American savage, who is partly a Neanderthal, comes to Africa and slaughters a very rare black giraffe offered by the stupidity of South Africa," reads in the tweet of June 2018. "She s & # Tess Thompson Talley. Share it please. "
The images aroused strong emotions among opponents of this controversial practice, including Ricky Gervais, animal activist and Hollywood's leading actor, who tweeted that giraffes were in danger by the time images became viral. .
At the time, Talley explained his hunt for Fox News.
"The giraffe that I hunted was the South African giraffe subspecies," she said in an email last July. "The number of this subspecies is increasing, thanks in part to hunters and conservation efforts funded largely by big game hunting. The breed is not uncommon in any way other than it was very old. Giraffes darken with age.
She pointed out that the giraffe she had killed was 18 years old, too old to be bred and had killed three young bulls capable of breeding, resulting in a decrease in herd population. Now, with the death of the oldest giraffe, young bulls can continue to breed and increase the population.
"It's called conservation through game management," Talley said at the time, saying his was not a "canned" hunt.
Hollie McKay of Fox News contributed to this report.
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