AN American big game hunter has caused outrage for slaughtering a rare black giraffe during a South Africa hunting trip. Tess Thompson Talley posted photos of herself posing with the slain creature online about a year ago. 3 Tess Thompson Talley poses next to the slain rare giraffe Credit: Twitter / AfricaDigest But last month they were picked up by African news outlet Africa Digest, sparking a firestorm on social media. The photos show Talley, from Kentucky, standing proudly next to a dead giraffe bull. Her caption read: "Prayers for my once in a lifetime dream hunt came true today! Spotted this rare black giraffe bull and stalked him for quite a while. I knew it was the one. "He was over 18 years old, 4000lbs and was blessed to be able to get 2000lbs of meat from him.” 3 The photos of her posing with the slaughtered beast have caused outrage Credit: Twitter / AfricaDigest Hundreds of people have now responded to African Digest's tweet highlighting Talley's original post. One wrote: "A very sad example of a person who lives for the thrill of the moment, and who has a dreadful sense of entitlement to kill for her own pleasure. "There are no words to describe how terrible is the deed you have committed." Another said: "I can’t imagine killing anything, let alone a defenceless animal who can’t shoot you back you ignorant. 3 Cecil (pictured) was slaughtered by a US hunter in 2015 Credit: AP:Associated Press Wild boar comes back to life, breaks out of car and escapes hunters in Lithuania "What a sad state of affairs when human beings can actually do this. Shame on everyone and anyone who defends this type of behaviour." When contacted by Fox News, Talley, from Kentucky, defended the controversial hunt. She said: "The giraffe I hunted was the South African sub-species of giraffe. "The numbers of this sub-species 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. MOST READ IN NEWS 'GOBSMACKED' Queen 'gave Harry OK for Oprah series after misleading pitch about soldiers' ROD LIDDLE Ousting right-on National Trust boss is a victory against wokery DRUMMER DEAD School Of Rock star dies at 32 after being hit by car as Jack Black mourns HOUSE ABOUT IT You won't believe what this ordinary London home looks like on the inside Exclusive TOM'S LEGACY Captain Tom Moore — who raised £39m for charity — left family £73k in will JABS HOPE Scientists 'crack cause of blood clots linked to Covid jabs & know how to fix it' "I get that hunting is not for everyone; that’s what makes this world great is the differences. "But to make threats to anyone because they don’t believe the way you do is completely unacceptable. "If it was any other belief that was different, threats and insults would be deemed hideous. "However, for some reason it is OK to act this way because it’s hunting." In 2015, Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer was the focus of international fury after killing the well-known and loved "Cecil the lion" in Zimbabwe. AFRICA BIG GAME HUNTING Big game hunting is permitted in most African nations because governments say the revenue it generates helps fund their conservation efforts. Wealthy hunters, mostly from America, pay up to £60,000 to track and kill a fully grown elephant. Other animals popular with trophy hunters are lions, leopards, rhinos, buffalos and deer. Every hunter must purchase a license that allows them to hunt. A license for an elephant, for example, is more costly than that for a lion. However, some nations completely outlaw the practice. Botswana, for example, argues that it can become an exclusive tourist destination that brings in more cash than it loses from the hunting ban. Safari park lion hugs and kisses tourists as kids sit inches away in incredible footage We pay for your stories! Do you have a story for The Sun Online news team? Email us at tips@the-sun.co.uk or call 0207 782 4368. You can WhatsApp us on 07810 791 502. We pay for videos too. Click here to upload yours.<doc-sep>An American woman has been slammed for hunting and killing a rare black giraffe in South Africa. Tessa Thompson Talley was featured on popular Instagram account "reelcamogirl", which posts photos of women hunting, fishing and shooting. In a post from July 2017, Ms Talley can be seen posing with a rifle in front of the curled-up body of a black giraffe, whose mottled skin is darker than most African giraffes. "Some people look at this with sadness," reads the caption. "However true conservation, whether here or in another country, involves maintaining an appropriate number of healthy animals. It means culling the old and feeding the local people so the animals maintain value." Ms Talley is quoted as saying the kill was her "best memory in camo thus far". "This beautiful black bull was estimated to be at LEAST 18 years old," she said. She claimed half of the giraffe's meat was donated, except for what she herself ate for dinner, which she described as "absolutely delish". "Hunting may not be for everyone, but it's MY passion!" she said. "I'm thankful for every hunt and every memory!" Despite being posted almost a year ago, the photos of Ms Talley's kill recently went viral and provoked a backlash. News site Africland Post tweeted she was a "white American savage who is partly a Neanderthal".<doc-sep>Tess Thompson Talley, 37, poses with a giraffe she killed on a hunting trip last summer. Photo: Facebook<doc-sep>Photos of an American hunter posing with the dead body of a "rare" black giraffe she had just killed during a hunt in South Africa have sparked outrage. The pictures emerged after they were posted on Twitter by the South Africa-based AfricLand Post website. Accompanying the post, which shows two pictures of Tess Thompson Talley of Kentucky, were the words: “White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe courtesy of South Africa stupidity. Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share”. American animal lovers also expressed horror. “I’m sick with rage,” said a Twitter user identified as Tom Kay. “This waste of life #TessThompsonTalley is hunting beautiful creatures for a laugh.” Another tweeter, identified as Jessica Worley, urged people to "name and shame this grotesque excuse for a human being". The photos were from a hunting trip Thompson Talley took in June 2017. “Prayers for my once in a lifetime dream hunt came true today!” she said in a Facebook post, apparently now deleted. “Spotted this rare black giraffe bull and stalked him for quite awhile. I knew it was the one. He was over 18 years old, 4,000 lbs and was blessed to be able to get 2,000 lbs of meat from him." In 2015, protesters gathered outside the office and home of Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer after he killed a beloved lion, Cecil, near a national park in Zimbabwe. Talley defended her kill in an email to Fox News: “The giraffe I hunted was the South African sub-species of giraffe. The numbers of this sub-species 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.” Trophy hunting is a legal practice in a number of African countries, Fox reported, including South Africa, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe. In South Africa, where animals such as buffalo, elephants, and lion are often targeted, trophy hunting is a $2 billion-per-year industry, reported the BBC. More:Cecil the lion 'suffered incredible cruelty' for hours, new research claims More:Cecil the Lion's son, Xanda, shot dead by trophy hunter More:Killing of Cecil the lion sparks big protests, debate More:Lion death highlights Africa's poaching problem Talley also claimed to Fox that the giraffe she killed was too old to breed, and had killed three younger bulls who were able to breed. “This is called conservation through game management,” said Talley. However, comedian, actor and animal activist Ricky Gervais, tweeted that “Giraffes are now on the 'red list' of endangerment due to a 40% decline over the last 25 years. They could become extinct. Gone forever.” He criticized Talley, calling her spoiled, and anyone else hunting giraffes. Actress Debra Messing also did not hold back. “Tess Thompson Talley from Nippa, Kentucky is a disgusting, vile, amoral, heartless, selfish murderer,” she raged.<doc-sep>
An American hunter is facing widespread backlash after posing with the body of a rare black giraffe she killed during a trip in South Africa. South Africa-based AfricLand Post first posted the photos on social media, calling the woman a "white American savage" for hunting down a giraffe on the continent. The woman is Kentucky resident Tess Thompson Talley, according to USA Today. ADVERTISEMENT "White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe coutrsey of South Africa stupidity," AfricLand Post wrote on Twitter. "Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share." White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe coutrsey of South Africa stupidity. Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share pic.twitter.com/hSK93DOOaz — AfricaDigest (@africlandpost) June 16, 2018 USA Today reports that the photos Talley took were from a hunting trip in 2017. In a since-deleted Facebook post, Talley wrote that she spotted a "rare black giraffe bull and stalked him for quite awhile." "I knew it was the one," she said. "He was over 18 years old, 4,000 lbs and was blessed to be able to get 2,000 lbs of meat from him." In an email to Fox News, Talley defended her decision to kill the animal. “The giraffe I hunted was the South African sub-species of giraffe. The numbers of this sub-species 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 news outlet. The photos, as well as the subsequent outrage Talley sparked, comes about three years after the House passed the Global Anti-Poaching Act. The bill came after a Minnesota dentist hunted and killed a beloved lion, Cecil, in Zimbabwe. The legislation was passed with the goal of increasing the penalties for wildlife traffickers, making them comparable to those faced by weapons and drug traffickers. BBC reports that in South Africa trophy hunting is a $2 billion-per-year industry. Buffalo, elephants and lions are often the animals targeted.