Comedian Ricky Gervais is no stranger to controversy, nor is he afraid to voice his opinion on matters that mean something to him, particularly animal activism. It was no surprise when he took to his Twitter account to call out a pair of trophy hunters who felt the need to post photos of themselves posing next to giraffes they had killed for no good reason. It should also come as no surprise when the tweets went viral.
Well done. You managed to shoot a stationery, 14 foot peaceful creature with a high velocity rifle. Very sporting. pic.twitter.com/Xuz7F5A3YT
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 11, 2015
My post about the giraffe hunter was seen by 27 million people on Twitter & Facebook in just one day. Keep up the good work. It all helps 🙂
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 12, 2015
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
The second tweet was from a well known trophy hunter named Rebecca Francis. She is best known for being the winner of the reality program Extreme Huntress. Francis fired back, claiming that the giraffe had been “past his breeding years and very close to death” and that it had been used as food for locals. Gervais promptly replied in turn:
After killing that giraffe out of the kindness of her heart and feeding the poor locals she had these for pudding. pic.twitter.com/P3nP4ACDKI
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 16, 2015
Francis, unwilling to back down, replied again in defense of herself and trophy hunting, stating, “There is no question that hunters contribute the most to the welfare of wildlife. I believe in the right to hunt. I believe that hunters promote wildlife more than any other source.”
Ricky then linked to a source from the BBC disputing that claim. The information details the sections of Africa where trophy hunting is legal. Wild animals, such as big cats, are bred to be hunted and bottle fed from birth so they grow up not feeling threatened by humans, making them less dangerous and easier to kill. He did make sure to differentiate between trophy hunting and legitimate hunting first.
I wish people would stop confusing hunting to eat and hunting for thrills, tusks, or to hang an endangered species on the fucking wall.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 16, 2015
Unsurprisingly, when her points had been countered, she decided to turn away from the discussion and instead claimed that she had been singled out due to being a woman. “Ricky Gervais has used his power and influence to specifically target women in the hunting industry and has sparked thousands of people to call for my death, the death of my family and many other women who hunt,” Rebecca claimed on record. Of course, Gervais was having none of that either.
“I kill lions, giraffes & bears with guns & bows and arrows then pose grinning. Why don’t people like me? Must be because they’re sexist”
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 17, 2015
We need to stamp out this terrible sexism in the noble sport of trophy hunting. The men & women that do it are EQUALLY vile & worthless.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 18, 2015
Readers, I’ll leave you with one final tweet and a round of applause for Mr. Gervais.
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
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