British Comedian Ricky Gervais slammed a trophy hunter this week on Twitter, who posted a picture of herself, smiling, next to a slain giraffe.
“What must’ve happened to you in your life to make you want to kill a beautiful animal & then lie next to it smiling?,” the 53-year-old said on Twitter referring to the woman in the picture Rebecca Francis, the co-host of Eye of the Hunter.
What must've happened to you in your life to make you want to kill a beautiful animal & then lie next to it smiling? pic.twitter.com/DyYw1T5ck2
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 13, 2015
Francis defended her kill in an article on HuntingLife.com, explaining that the dead animal was donated to local residents.
“When I was in Africa five years ago I was of the mindset that I would never shoot a giraffe,” she wrote. “I was approached toward the end of my hunt with a unique circumstance. They showed me this beautiful old bull giraffe that was wandering all alone. He had been kicked out of the herd by a younger and stronger bull. He was past his breeding years and very close to death. They asked me if I would preserve this giraffe by providing all the locals with food and other means of survival. He was inevitably going to die soon and he could either be wasted or utilized by the local people. I chose to honor his life by providing others with his uses and I do not regret it for one second. Once he was down there were people waiting to take his meat. They also took his tail to make jewelry, his bones to make other things, and did not waste a single part of him. I am grateful to be a part of something so good.”
Gervais didn’t buy her explanation. He mocked it by posing next to a bowl of rice and tofu, saying it was “old and sad and wanted me to kill it.”
This Tofu & Rice was old and sad and wanted me to kill it. Now I will eat it. pic.twitter.com/5vsstpUZaL
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 16, 2015
I know we are all different & I don't expect Trophy Hunters to change their ways, but I will always speak up for animals because I can 🙂
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 16, 2015
While the subject of trophy hunting is something we’ve debated before, I can’t help but to see both sides. Personally, I don’t like the idea of killing endangered and/or exotic animals. But, I also understand that one way to protect these animals from extinction is to breed them specifically for hunting. Yes, it’s ironic. However, that is the current reality in places like Africa.
Check out this excellent video from documentarian Louis Theroux. It articulates both sides of the debate succinctly:
Try this it kinda makes the Giraffe thing look silly. mhttp://liveactionnews.org/breaking-it-was-a-twin-planned-parenthood-discusses-sale-of-fully-intact-aborted-babies-in-new-tape/
Dumb ass gervalis should go back to England or the closet he was freed from….he’s not very funny and should not talk crap about others and judge them by the cover of their book… Rickie, take some lessons from eddie murphy on how to be funny….get a life.
There is no food on earth that was not alive in some form. Rice and tofu man is shallow and selective on his finger pointing.
Ms. Triggerfinger needs to display a bit more maturity while posing for her kill selfies.
She killed it with a bow. ALL selfies bother me, they are a symptom of narcissism, but shooting an animal that size with a bow is either supremely confident or absolutely clueless. I wonder how many arrows it took, and how far they had to chase it.
I know it won’t make a difference to the secular progressives but: Genesis 1:28-30.
Who?
Old and sad….like the remnants of your empire, you limey f***…..
I might add that the myth is that trophy hunters were the people responsible for killing off the bulk of Africa’s wild game. In reality due to the introduction of modern medicine the human population of Africa exploded requiring vast amounts of land for agriculture just to attempt to feed some of them. The result was mass slaughter by Government hunters that were sent into an area to mass slaughter every living animal in sight and it often took only a few weeks to accomplish this with most of the meat rotting in the sun as may areas had no human population or very little population due to former warfare and depredations by wild animals.
One American fellow that moved to Africa said that when you actually have to live in close approximation to dangerous animals that are constantly threatening your family law or no law you find ways to get rid of them very quickly. Its one thing to watch TV shows like Wild Kingdom and quite another when you actually try to live in a place with wild dangerous animals. In other words there is not room for both humans and dangerous animals and the superior creature soon gets rid of the creatures that are threatening him in one way or another. The truth is never pleasant but that does not make the truth any less true.
Do we ever listen to ourselves. Why was she there anyway, if it was to hunt other animals then sorry he is right. Here in the US we do hunt deer and lets see why. Do we need the meat,no the money it takes to go hunting we can go to the store and buy the meat. Poor people cant go hunting and they do need the meat. I see it all the time the man says, honey I can provide meat for the table and all I need is a new gun,four wheel drive pick up,oh wait I cant take my new truck into the woods I could scratch it so I will need a four wheeler as well. Still not enouh well now I need a trailer to tow the four wheeler, then that will get me to the woods now I need a tree stand,proper clothes deer scent and calls,food, license,gas,and ammo not to mention all the other things. I would think if she really wants to help feed those people she should take the money she spent to hunt there she could feed those people for a year or more.
Guess what Mike, since this is the United States of America, 2 things are relevant here: First, I swore an Oath to protect your Rights and defend the Constitution that protects your rights, including the right to speak your mind. So I defend your right to spew your misguided narrow-minded statements. That said, secondly, under our unique system of American freedom, what someone lawfully decides to do with their time and money and energy is none of your business…really! You sound very envious and petty and childish with your rant. Grow up and take responsibility for your own life, do whatever you lawfully want to do with your time, energy, and resources, but keep your jealousies to yourself.
Not to mention the fact that Gervais is about as relevant as Piers Morgan! They need to both move back to England.
You know…I really wish they would. They have their screwed up country…..go back to it instead of trying to come over here and make OURS the same as THEIRS! Yeah….GB is a role model for democracy in the world……not so much.
Go home, Blokes! Don’t stay here and be miserable….Go Home!!!
While the author may consider the giraffe an exotic animal, the people in Africa wouldn’t. They may, however, consider the armadillo and coyote “exotic”. Killing a giraffe for food is no different than killing a deer or any other animal. This animal would have died and gone to waste but went to feed possibly hundreds, instead. Not to mention the fact they are utilizing the rest of the bits. The fact that her story has generated so much hate form those “tolerant” folks on the liberal left and even some of those who follow this page and support 2nd Amendment rights is shameful. I don’t know where these fools think their steaks come from.
She was towards the end of a hunt (searching for an exotic animal to kill) when this old giraffe presented an irresistible target? Sheesh, lady…stop spinning. If you are proud of it, own it.
Glad you get it…
I am REALLY tired of all these hunters who prattle off a list of excuses to go shoot an animal. There are more than enough giraffe in Africa and from the look of him, he was dark (older) and huge. Yes, the money from the tag does in some small way trickle back into the local economy and yes, all meat shot in Africa does get consumed by locals. However, don’t gimme this, “he was old and alone… I did him a favor…” BS. If you hunt, you hunt. I have less issue with Ricky Gervais’ comments than with her sorry excuses. Also, with so much of the media dominated by left wingers, why do we have to post pictures of dead animals on social media publicly? Hard enough for the real hunters to do what they love without people like her stoking the fires…
You did read the part that said ” they asked her to shoot it”? Not “she went looking for a giraffe”. The term “near the end of a hunt” means getting ready to leave the place where they were staying, not out with their guns. I’m not a hunter and I know she was telling the truth. I have more issue with self centered people that think they really know more about what someone says than the person that says it. You did not read the entire article or, you prefer to make up parts of it if you feel she was not being truthful.
Ricky Gervais is one of these entertainment people who have had success and feel they are a little better than the rest of us poor mortals. I have seen him laughing at how stupid people are that believe in God. After hearing that, anything that comes out of this ego maniac doesn’t surprise me. He knows all and the rest of us are just plane ignorant and superstitious. If I see a program on TV with him in it I change the channel. If he is in a movie I refuse to watch it.
Ricky Gervais, is the “other” aging, British Queen, who unlike Elizabeth(an actual monarch), is a flatulating gas-bag and little else.
Who cares what “he” thinks?
Aging queens are a real problem for Britain in general.
The Term “trophy” hunter would indicate that an animal was killed strictly for someone’s pleasure or for body parts that are sold or made into …well, a “trophy”. When animals are harvested quickly, cleanly and honorably and all the useable parts possible are used….primarily to FEED starving people…NOT TO MAKE MONEY OR JUST FOR SOMETHING TO HANG ON THE WALL…..this would not indicate “trophy” hunting. This was the right thing to do with this animal. Just another example of a intolerant, ignorant, British moron shooting off his mouth to belittle people that don’t think he does. Hmm….sounds amazingly a lot like a democrat.