Kentucky woman responds to backlash over giraffe killing

[Judi Lynn]

Source: Associated Press

Updated 4:50 pm CDT, Tuesday, July 3, 2018

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — A Kentucky woman vilified on social media for killing a giraffe on a 2017 hunt in Africa says she's received thousands of angry messages and death threats.

A photo of Tess Talley posing with a large giraffe went viral this week after the Twitter account of a site called Africa Digest posted two photos and called her a "white American savage."

Media report that Talley is from Johnson County in eastern Kentucky. She issued a statement this week saying the giraffe was not rare and she was participating in what she called "conservation through game management."

She says in the statement "some of the most vile things have been directed at me and many other women hunters."

Read more: https://www.chron.com/news/us/article/Kentucky-woman-responds-to-backlash-over-giraffe-13047751.php

---

[Trust Buster]

1. Simply sick.

[calimary]

4. TOTALLY sick.

That pathetic conservation excuse I don’t believe for a single nanosecond.

And don’t try to hide behind your gender either, you bloodthirsty c-word.

[thegoose]

2. Rare or not, who cares?

Look at this **** celebrating over the corpse of that beautiful animal. Despicable.

[MarcA]

17. Unfortunately her kind are not rare. n/t

[Xipe Totec]

3. I participate in a different conservation movement that's based on not shooting animals. nt

[ret5hd]

7. Well, explain to me exactly how...

These giraffes are supposed to reproduce without a sucking chest wound!!! You can't can you?

[groundloop]

8. My conservation efforts involve shooting animals with a Canon

And a long lens.

How the hell can anyone murder an animal as beautiful and majestic as a giraffe? This person doesn't deserve death threats (and I have to wonder about the credibility of that claim), but she sure the hell deserves every last bit of scorn that's being dished out.

[MoonRiver]

5. MAY YOU RESIDE IN HELL, YOU POS

[Solly Mack]

6. Vile words directed at vile people for their vile actions.

What did she expect?

Applause?

[Afromania]

16. Yea, that's exactly what this sick ass expected.

That's what each and every one of those sick ass mofo's seem to want. They want to do dirt and get a "great job there buddy" for their sick ass endeavors. It isn't even in the realm of possibilities for people like her that others are going to object to what they did and shame/shun them for doing it.

[Solly Mack]

19. You're right. That's exactly what she expected.

[msongs]

9. pic 2 is she thanking the lord for her murder of this awsome giraffe? nt

[lunasun]

15. Yes that is a fundie gang sign ... one way ! Bible tells them they have power over animals in

multiple mentions so this is OK ...one way!

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

51. In order to have power over animals...

start w themselves. I'm sure gods want hu-mans killing everything. Hunters around here kill 6 deer a year saying they're putting them in the freezer...as they throw out last years deer meat. It's all a big con job to do whatever they want. SOOO sick of religion. Pointing to the sky...fuck you Tess.

[Squinch]

10. Pig.

[GoCubsGo]

72. Pig shit.

There. I fixed it for you. Calling that disgusting sack of crap a "pig" is an insult to pigs. Pigs are intelligent, decent creatures. The only thing this woman has in common with them is that she bears an uncanny resemblance to that which comes out of their back ends.

[cyclonefence]

11. Her gleeful expression

tells the whole story. Conservation, my ass. She is an asshole who has no idea of life and death; she will never understand what she has done. She's just having a good time. Rich, entitled--I bet she got a tweet from Don Jr. congratulating her.

[lunasun]

12. Well they were put on the endangered list 12/2016. Last pic of giraffe killer shows her glee &

This killing happened in 2017 ...
Are giraffes endangered >?
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature, the body that administers the world's official endangered species list, announced yesterday that it was moving the giraffe from a species of Least Concern to Vulnerable status in its Red List of Threatened Species report.Dec 9, 2016
Giraffes Silently Slip Onto the Endangered Species List | Smart ...
https://www.smithsonianmag.com › giraf...

[dameatball]

13. "....directed at me and many other woman hunters"......??....Please. You are despicable not because

of gender. You are despicable because you ended the life of a beautiful animal for your own pleasure and delusion of grandeur.

This animal had a right to live. It had committed no crimes. I'm pretty sure it did not belong to MS-13 or ISIS or even PETA. Its papers were in order by virtue of birth and the miracle of surviving a harsh and diminishing environment.. There was no reason to kill it other than whatever personal pleasure you gained from it. Being a woman has nothing to do with it. FU. x1000

[Delphinus]

70. I so

appreciate what you wrote. Said it so much better than I could at this moment.

[dameatball]

73. Thanks. Hating and ridiculing these people is easy. Stopping them is not.

We have become a predatory society in general.

[nolabels]

77. We pretty much always were

Try this book on for a while

Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind
by Yuval Noah Harari
(snip)
100,000 years ago, at least six human species inhabited the earth. Today there is just one. Us. Homo sapiens.

How did our species succeed in the battle for dominance? Why did our foraging ancestors come together to create cities and kingdoms? How did we come to believe in gods, nations and human rights; to trust money, books and laws; and to be enslaved by bureaucracy, timetables and consumerism? And what will our world be like in the millennia to come?
(snip)
https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/23692271-sapiens

It's also available on amazon audible if you don't like to read books

[gtar100]

14. So cruel and unnecessary. "White American Savage" sums it up well.

Talley is one sick person. But I imagine she's surrounded by people with the same disease and will fail to see how utterly disgusting her display of excitement is. A gun against a giraffe... I have no words to make sense of it. Oh, how about this - what a fucking moron. Same goes for all trophy hunters.

[Maxheader]

18. They just don't get it...

Glamor photo shoot...pathetic

[The Wizard]

20. It starts with

defenseless animals .......

[KPN]

59. Yep, the most vulnerable among us. How can

a human be compassionate and empathic with fellow humans if they can’t be so with the most vulnerable.

Praising God for allowing her to end the life of one of the most beautiful, magnificent creatures on earth? Fake spirituality.

[madaboutharry]

21. It's horrible

I don’t get what people get from killing these animals.

[NickB79]

22. Given how African fauna is doing, game preserves that offer hunting may be their only hope

Population growth and the accompanying boom in industrial farming is rapidly destroying wilderness habitat. This is currently the driving force behind most of Africa's wildlife decline: http://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/10/9/095015

Using lions as an indicator species, they are rapidly losing ground in much of their range. The only nations they are doing well in have large, regulated hunting preserves that offer refuge from farming pressure: http://www.newsweek.com/lion-populations-likely-decline-half-next-20-years-much-africa-387471

In fact, lion populations are actually increasing in four southern African countries: Botswana, Namibia, South Africa and Zimbabwe. That’s because the governments of these countries are spending money to thwart poaching, and/or the animals are protected in large fenced reserves, Frank says. If the decline of lions is to be thwarted elsewhere, it will take this kind of (expensive) approach, he adds.

Unless ecotourism starts putting in the same kind of cash flow that big game hunting does, these large species face a bleak future.

Outrage doesn't buy millions of acres of habitat, or the amed guards to patrol it.

[Rollo]

79. Good points...

I do not condone trophy hunting, nor the killing of threatened, endangered, or rare species.

However, I was puzzled by the claim this kill was in coordination with game management/conservation.

The claim is that this particular animal was a male too old to breed, and which had killed three younger bull giraffes of breeding age. First I've ever heard of giraffes fighting to the death.

From the Washington Post:

Talley, a Kentucky woman, did not respond to a request for comment from The Washington Post. But in a statement released to the media, she defended her hunt, saying that by slaying the giraffe, she helped conserve the animals through “game management,” protecting the giraffe population because the animal shot was too old to breed and had killed three younger bulls.

“The giraffe I hunted was the South African subspecies of giraffe. The numbers of this subspecies is actually increasing due, in part, to hunters and conservation efforts paid for in large part by big-game hunting. The breed is not rare in any way other than it was very old. Giraffes get darker with age,” she told the Today show in a statement.

Talley is correct. It does appear the black coat is a byproduct of age and not indicative of a rare species, Giraffe Conservation Foundation co-founder Julian Fennessy told Yahoo Lifestyle.

Fennessy identified the animal as the Southern giraffe, which is not only not rare but increasing in the wild, he said.

“Legal hunting of giraffes is not a reason for their decline, despite the moral and ethical side of it, which is a different story,” he said.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/animalia/wp/2018/07/03/she-said-she-killed-this-giraffe-to-save-more-giraffes/?noredirect=on&utm_term=.139e6a0245c5

[NickB79]

80. That is indeed interesting

Too old to breed and a danger to younger, fertile males was also the reason behind the controversial auctioned culling of a rhino a few years ago: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jan/12/black-rhino-hunt-permit-brings-350000-at-controversial-auction

That was the correct decision IMO then, as the alternative was a gunshot from a game warden, a bulldozer-dug grave, and $350,000 less to spend on protecting the breeding rhinos in the park.

[Rollo]

81. There are those who say there's more than a little misogyny involved here...

And that male hunters in similar situations have not resulted in the level of vituperation of the comments directed against this woman.

Just saying.

Perhaps her critics should examine their own bias?

1) It was a totally legal hunt

2) The giraffe was not of an endangered species, and was too old to breed

3) The giraffe was a killer himself, having killed three younger males of breeding age.

4) Culling this animal will likely result in more giraffe breeding and a larger population.

5) The alternative likely would have been a lower giraffe population, or an expensive effort to have the preserve staff hunt and kill the destructive old male giraffe, resulting in less funds to help the animals.

[cornball 24]

23. BOO HOO!! Wait a minute...this P.O.S. has the unmitigated gall to complain about "vile

things....blah blah, blah" in an effort to correlate criticism of her malevolent deed with misogyny! She is the very definition of "vile".

[JI7]

24. Does she eat the giraffe ?

[forgotmylogin]

37. That's what I wondered.

That creature is enormous in comparison to her. It looks like it would feed an entire village, but I doubt she's taking home any of that...maybe the pelt?

This is absolutely unnecessary. She's celebrating like she accomplished something more difficult besides riding on a truck and lining up a shot through her scope.

[tammywammy]

46. I read in an article that the meat was harvested for locals.

Which seems to be typical.

[Bayard]

62. My thought exactly

If you shoot it, you have to eat it. Killing for food is one thing. Killing for sport should be outlawed.

[SamKnause]

25. I am not allowed to call her what she is on DU because it is politically incorrect.

As a female I use the word in my home.

Samantha Bee knows the word I am referring to.

[QC]

34. Ricky Gervais already took care of it. n/t

[SamKnause]

35. ???

[QC]

39. He called her the word you're referring to here.

I can't link or post here, but he called her [that word] on Twitter.

[SamKnause]

40. Good !!!

It fits her and so many others in the Trump cult perfectly.

Have a great evening and 4th.

[QC]

43. You too!!!

Look it up--it's pretty funny.

[Leghorn21]

44. Link to Gervais tweet, Sam:

https://mobile.twitter.com/rickygervais/status/1013856985178165248

[SamKnause]

45. Thanks

[Va Lefty]

26. What a POS!

[dewsgirl]

27. Ughh,when I read about this before there weren't any pics I wish I hadn't entered this thread.

I hope this evil POS gets what she deserves.

[Judi Lynn]

47. I posted the photos to reveal the actions of this US American sadist/hunter.

It is necessary that people can grasp how evil, empty, and uneccessary these "humans" are.

The moral universe doesn't need them.

[dewsgirl]

56. I know, I just wasn't expecting them. I had never even heard of

a black giraffe, just heartbreaking. Thank you for the thread, I meant you no offense. I just wasn't expecting them. I really wish all of these idiots that try to use controlling the wild game population by murderig these innocent animals, would burn in hell.

[Judi Lynn]

78. I absolutely share your feelings. Hadn't heard of a black giraffe, either.

Beautiful creature destroyed, offered as a sacrifice to her pompous, evil ego.

Anyone who can enjoy harming animals shouldn't be allowed to have access to them. Not ever.

Hope she will have the time to learn just how vile she is, how far from goodness she lives by choice.

[marieo1]

28. minngal

She is a piece of dog crap!! and not human!!

[Hoyt]

29. Even if this was a government endorsed "conservation" hunt, no one should take glee in killing

a beautiful animal.

[paleotn]

30. The very face of evil

And what did the wench do with that beautiful animal after it was killed? Let it rot? God, I hate those people with every fiber of my being.

[Crutchez_CuiBono]

53. I'm sure if you ask her...

she will say she ate it, and gave some of the meat to the poor. That's a pretty standard excuse.

[Rural_Progressive]

31. All I can say is wow

I raise pigs and sheep. Goes without saying that I deal with death every time my animals die so that people can have access to safe, healthy, responsibly raised meat. The day it gets easy, much less enjoyable, for me to kill my animals is the day I will get out of the business.

That said, those pictures caused the gorge to rise up in my throat. Everything dies, the only questions are how, when, and what will be done with the remains. To kill something just for the "pleasure" of taking its life is disgusting and that's what these freaks do and then to add the "one way signal" as if this is an act condoned by her god, well that is beyond the pale.

Culture of life my ass, these people are the definition of Death Eaters.

[Delphinus]

71. Thank you for sharing.

I am glad to hear what you wrote. Bless you for doing this humanely.

[Scalded Nun]

32. If you think the words are vile

What do you think the Giraffe thought of your bullet you fired you fucking piece of human filth?

[byronius]

33. Murderous psychopath gets feelings hurt. Awwww.

That is one seriously demonic soul.

[Freethinker65]

36. Wildlife conservation my ass. She spent $$$$ for travel and guides for a trophy kill and selfies

If she was so concerned about wildlife conservation she could have donated that money to wildlife conservation/management groups overseas.

Also, there is plenty of game right here in the good old USA where the avid female huntress could have applied her wildlife conservation management skills...deer, wild boar/pigs, nutria, etc. Some gun toting female patriot she is, not helping her own country out!

WTF is she going to do with all of that meat she was blessed to get from the giraffe. Is she going to donate it to locals? Nice gesture, but I bet there are many locals as good or better shots as her to have done so.


She deserves all the shame she gets, as did Jr. and his dead elephant pic. She did it because she wanted the selfie to prove to others she was a badass hunter. The hunters I know do not feel the need to pose for selfies that they will post to social media.

[jpak]

38. Poor Trophy Snowflake

Thoughts and Prayers

[Maggiemayhem]

41. Her prayers for killing a giraffe have been answered according to her.

She should hook up with Paul Ryan , he has been praying for an end to food stamps, Social Security,and Medicare. I am sure the Turtle could arrange a rendezvous.

[Progressive dog]

42. That is sickening

but she was so happy and proud that she posted the pictures on her facebook page.

[cp]

48. Asshole

My wish for these "hunters" is that they have a fair fight, where the animals have an equal chance to kill them. Let's see how good of "hunters" they really are.

[trueblue2007]

49. I can't post what i actually think .... or I will get in trouble

[trueblue2007]

50. we need to know where she works. like the dentist who murdered CECIL THE LION. Boycott the busines

[catbyte]

52. Yeah, I'm sure she'd say something like that. It doesn't make her any less of a horrific psychopath

who derives pleasure from stalking and murdering creatures far more noble and precious than her pathetic ass could ever hope to be. I might be an atheist, but I still fantasize about horror shows like her burning in hell for all eternity.

[secondwind]

54. Maybe it's the total GLEE on your freaking face and your

happiness at killing one of God’s creatures that is disturbing. You enjoyed this a little too much.

[jrthin]

55. Enough vile things cannot be said, when one considers her vile, evil action. nt

[3Hotdogs]

57. One sick fuck.

I hope people ostracize her, boycott her business or whatever business earns enough to pay for her sick hobby.

[dobleremolque]

58. "Conservation thru game management" is like

virginity protection thru defloration.

[Paladin]

63. Gotta KILL 'um to SAVE 'um! Uh-Huh, A-Yup.

To hell with this woman.

[BruceWane]

60. So, so proud

As completely disgusting as this act is, what astonishes me is acting like she really pulled off something challenging.

You've got a state-of-the-art firearm with probably the finest optical sights money can buy and you can hit a giraffe with it, as long as gawd helps you out. So proud! Such an accomplishment!

Next challenge - hitting the broad side of a barn. From the inside.

[Raine]

61. FUCK HER

Sick disgusting piece of shit ... GO TO HELL!!!!

[LudwigPastorius]

64. I hate these necrophiles who can only find joy in killing something beautiful.

I wouldn't cross the street to piss on her if she lit herself on fire.

[Nitram]

65. What she did was legal, but that doesn't protect her from a public shaming by society.

Something conservatives need to learn.

[MrScorpio]

66. Trophy hunters are the scum of the Earth

[pwb]

67. Pulling a trigger at a target is more rewarding.

And nothing looses its life. Killing that animal took no special skill. It was most likely looking right at her when she killed it.

[MurrayDelph]

68. I shot a giraffe once

My wife was feeding it, and I shot it.

Then I handed her the camera and she shot while I fed it.

Had a great time at the San Diego Zoo.

[RhodeIslandOne]

69. Fuck you, you psycho witch! n/m

[TexasBushwhacker]

74. She's from Kentucky but lives in Texas

She works at a ball bearing company. She lives and hunts with her husband.

While I understand hunters pay big money for permits and that money is supposedly used for conservation efforts, I cannot imagine getting pleasure from killing such a beautiful animal.

[Kaleva]

75. Her attitude shown in the pics is beyond the pale

[muntrv]

76. I believe that's the job of lions to hunt giraffes.

[Achilleaze]

82. the republican death kult is into killing for the sake of killing

sick bastards