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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

Original poster

to think internet shaming people for legal behaviour is shitty behaviour

154 replies

KeflavikAirport · 24/02/2021 10:16

My FB is awash with petitions to ban some South African woman for posting pictures of giraffe hunting. People are calling her murderous scum and all sorts. Now I'm not a fan of trophy hunting personally but like it or not, it's legal. AIBU to think that joining a baying internet mob to hound a woman who has done nothing illegal is pretty shitty behaviour in its own right? And no I won't be signing your petition. Lobby to make trophy hunting illegal if you care that much.

OP posts:
millievanille · 24/02/2021 16:19

If she posts such controversial and vile pictures she deserves any vitriol she gets. Like it or not a lot of people feel strongly against hunting because it is merely a sport for the hunter but causes suffering to the animal and can decimate populations. People are entitled to take a stand against it if they wish. If she does what she feels is her right then so shall everyone else.

DinosaurDigestive · 24/02/2021 16:23

She would have known what she was inviting to happen when she chose to post the images online. I would say everyone who chooses to get their kicks by shooting innocent animals know that by posting it in that way they will get people commenting and the pictures will circulate.

Her own fault. Pathetic trying to get kicks by murdering a giraffe of all animals.

bloodyhairy · 24/02/2021 17:32

I have absolutely no sympathy for the woman. Just because it isn't against the law, doesn't make it right. And she's an absolute bitch for posting the pictures online. It's severely poor judgement on her part and serves only to wind others up. Hope they give her absolute hell!

Globe22 · 24/02/2021 17:36

She is morally repugnant so I have little sympathy.

rosiejaune · 24/02/2021 17:40

@KeflavikAirport

I don't think you can claim the moral high ground when you're joining in a massive worldwide pile on.
You can if you don't kill other animals yourself (or pay someone else to do it). Criticising someone online is nothing like murdering them.
Mittens030869 · 24/02/2021 18:06

If your complaint is about cyber bullying, there are plenty of genuine victims whose cause you should highlight. This woman boasting about giraffe hunting trophies isn't a genuine victim. In fact, by boasting about it online, she absolutely deserves it. And surely she must have known that she would get such a reaction.

BonnieDundee · 24/02/2021 19:57

By your own standards it's legal to slag people off online. She totally deserves it. I have more sympathy for the poor beautiful innocent dead animal.

What an absolute bastard.

NeverDropYourMoonCup · 24/02/2021 20:14

@Erkrie

Which I don't think is actually what you want - you want everybody to be bothered to the extent of becoming Vegan.

Not really, i can't imagine people being bothered enough to become vegan. If they were, then there would clearly be more vegans, which there isn't. However as giraffe is often on the menu then I would say the shooting of the giraffe in the wild (so to speak) is far more preferable to the nature of intensively farmed animals for meat. To think that intensive farming is ok but shooting the giraffe isn't, seems pretty hypocritical to me.

If the Giraffe were being shot solely for meat, I'd agree that it's a life preferable to a chicken being kept in a cage. But it wasn't being shot for meat - it was being shot for some wealthy woman to get the thrill of shooting a gun, watching it die and having its still warm heart cut out as a prize.
Erkrie · 24/02/2021 20:51

Well in the various newspaper articles about it, it states
the hunt ‘created work for 11 people that day’ and provided ‘meat for the locals’.

Yes she clearly got something out of shooting the animal. But it seems that the result of that did provide food for people. If it had been left to rot then I would have a problem with that. But it wasn't. So I still think that process is better than intensive animal farming.
I don't agree with either as it happens. But if people are going to kick up a fuss about the giraffe, then it's always good to look at the impact of their behaviour closer to home.

Neron · 24/02/2021 21:30

YABU.
Whether it's legal or not, it is absolutely disgusting and she's a cunt. I doubt many people will have sympathy for the comments she's receiving.

Heartbrokenstill · 25/02/2021 05:02

The photo of the trophy hunters photo was vile ☹️ she was holding the poor dead giraffe cut out heart in her hands.... I wish I hadn't seen it! Totally horrific

CherryValanc · 25/02/2021 06:56

Why does this one get your notice?

Is it more of a worldwide pile on than other photos of someone posing next to large animals they have killed?

Covidcorvid · 25/02/2021 07:04

Maybe they’re doing both? I don’t see the issue with tackling the problem from both ends.

Getting the govt to change the law obviously isn’t easy. I’m sure it will have been raised, yet it’s still legal. So the other option is to get people to stop doing it even though it’s legal.

She is scum. And she posted the photos knowing it was likely to kick off. Not like it hasn’t happened before.

AnitaB888 · 25/02/2021 08:15

This is not the only female who seems to need an empathy transplant, and of course they're all 'victims'.

www.thesteepletimes.com/the-sporting-life/moron-of-the-moment-larysa-switlyk/

These females are sponsored by gun manufacturers (who they mention in their blogs) and they both just luurvvve all the free publicity.

IMO they should be ignored.

turquoisewaters · 25/02/2021 09:43

@KeflavikAirport

What do you mean by 'ban'?

I shudder at the thought of killing an animal for fun and I don't have a problem with people expressing their disgust for this.

What I don't agree with is 'cancel culture' and internet mobbing trying to have someone banned from a platform for expression an opinion (as I understand she was not committing a crime where she did it)

DenisetheMenace · 25/02/2021 09:54

“The only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men (and women Grin) to do nothing”

Just as true now as it was in the 1770s.

I’d argue that slaughtering endangered species is about as evil as it gets and this person deserves the widespread recrimination.
Rightly or wrongly, we live in the age of the court of public opinion and policy makers listen.

RandomLondoner · 25/02/2021 11:16

And just to say, giraffes in Africa are facing very rapid decline with possibility of extinction in our times if more isn't done to protect them.

"Africa" is a big place and what is true for most of it is often not true for South Africa.

I would guess that legal trophy-hunting in South Africa would (if anything) lead to an increase in populations of the animals hunted. If something is in demand, producers will make more of it. South Africa has always been good at conservation, there is no way they're going to allow endangered populations to be reduced by hunting.

I've just googled, and apparently the giraffe population in South Africa has increased by 150% over the last 30 years. It would have been pretty healthy 30 years ago, as South Africa has always had large game reserves, so I don't think there's a shortage.

RandomLondoner · 25/02/2021 11:22

I’d argue that slaughtering endangered species is about as evil as it gets and this person deserves the widespread recrimination.

Widespread recrimination from people who are wrong, because giraffes are not endangered in South Africa?

A quick google tells me that they are endangered in Kenya. Should the opinions on Africa of people from another continent who don't know the difference between South Africa and Kenya matter?

RandomLondoner · 25/02/2021 11:26

Sustainable farming of big game, with trophy-hunting being one important revenue stream, is apparently very environmentally sound. Keeping a huge diversity of animals in a naturally planted landscape is much better than having a monoculture of cows or sheep living on grass.

zigzog44 · 25/02/2021 11:29

Shaming people like this isn’t shitty behaviour, her behaviour is shitty, so yes you’re being unreasonable, I take it there are things you think are morally wrong?

PhatPhanny · 25/02/2021 11:32

Legal or not, its disgusting and has no place being flaunted all over the Internet.

JesusInTheCabbageVan · 25/02/2021 12:20

@RandomLondoner

I’d argue that slaughtering endangered species is about as evil as it gets and this person deserves the widespread recrimination.

Widespread recrimination from people who are wrong, because giraffes are not endangered in South Africa?

A quick google tells me that they are endangered in Kenya. Should the opinions on Africa of people from another continent who don't know the difference between South Africa and Kenya matter?

This article says that giraffes as a whole are scientifically (but not yet legally) endangered. That was in 2019, so not sure how things have changed since.
TheBuffster · 25/02/2021 12:23

I think it's a bit hypocritical for people to decide which animals it's ok to kill. Generally these people eat meat and wear leather etc. You can be damn sure a wild giraffe shot with a gun has a less horrible life and death than a farmed pig or chicken.

I have no problems with vegetarian and vegan peeps calling it cruel, but the only crime worse than giraffe shooting seems to be abstaining from eating meat.

DenisetheMenace · 25/02/2021 20:42

Today 11:22 RandomLondoner

I’d argue that slaughtering endangered species is about as evil as it gets and this person deserves the widespread recrimination.

Widespread recrimination from people who are wrong, because giraffes are not endangered in South Africa?

A quick google tells me that they are endangered in Kenya. Should the opinions on Africa of people from another continent who don't know the difference between South Africa and Kenya matter?“

I am aware of the difference between Kenya and South Africa through family.

Could be wrong, but I suspect like me many people don’t consider these things on a national basis but globally? There are many conservation programmes working together, across borders.

Catlover77 · 26/02/2021 08:47

Killing defenceless animals and bragging about it deserves an internet pile on