A female hunter from the US, who posed with a goat she had shot during her “hunting adventure” on the Scottish island of Islay, has left Britain after a number of death threats she received on social networks.
"Hopefully that will give enough time for all the ignorant people out there sending me death threats to get educated on hunting and conservation," American anchorwoman Larysa Switlyk tweeted.
She earlier posted what were seen as gruesome images of herself “connecting back with nature” and posing together with her prey while on a hunting trip to Scotland, accompanying one of them with a caption: "Beautiful wild goat here… Such a fun hunt!” "Made a perfect 200 yard shot and dropped him," she went on, provoking a storm of criticism in the comments. Even more negativism was prompted by posts where Larysa pondered about a “gold medal” for her hunting companion Jason in light of his “2nd monstrous Red Stag here in Scotland.”
Among those who expressed his utmost fury is comedian Ricky Gervais who didn't by far mince his words on the matter: "A couple of c***s, dressed up like c***s, shooting a beautiful animal, then posing with the murdered carcass like right c***s and posting it on social media to show the world what c***s they are,” he wrote on Facebook, having shared Larysa’s picture.
Andy Murray's mum Judy also responded, albeit in less strong words, although choosing to tag the Scottish government in her post:
"'A unique hunt?' Disgraceful. It's a goat. And it's in Scotland. On a beautiful island. Stop this pls @scotgov".
The latter shortly weighed in, with Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon tweeting: "Totally understandable why the images from Islay of dead animals being held up as trophies is so upsetting and offensive to people." A governmental spokesman later stated that it is clear for them that there are abundant concerns over the issue, adding “the environment secretary will consider whether clarification or changes to the law might be required."
Comments on Twitter under respective hashtags naturally arrived in abundance. Some treated the whole story as a lengthy parody, expecting the woman to shoot “koala bears, puppies and lemurs” next.
“What fresh hell is this?” another asked.
Some opted for slightly humorous remarks, although those seem to have failed, with most stating in black and white that “it ain’t hilarious”:
One even suggested that game hunters would be better off targeting each other instead of wild animals:
There were those however, who attempted to shift away from judgements and take the heat off, remembering how peacocks “scared the bejesus out of” them when on vacation.
One even mentioned the apparent hypocrisy in users’ comments, pointing out that many online accusers are more than likely huge meat fans themselves.
Another even branded the commenting “c***s” as “pompous:”
There were however those who clearly drew a line between “responsible farming” and “psycho killers,” saying “she’s killing for a laugh and to show off.”