South African trophy hunter slammed for posing with giraffe heart

The 32-year-old proudly posed with the “wonderful” present from her husband – but was quickly slammed for her actions. WARNING: Graphic.

A South African hunter has sparked a furious backlash after posting photos of her posing with a dead giraffe’s corpse and heart on Facebook.

But farmer and mum Merelize Van Der Merwe insists she has done nothing wrong – instead claiming her slaying of the giraffe helps save under-threat African species and likening animal rights groups to the “mafia”.

The 32-year-old caused an uproar last week when she posted photos and videos of the Valentine’s Day present her “wonderful” husband had given her: the chance to shoot and kill a 17-year-old giraffe.

“Ever wondered how big a giraffe’s heart is? I’m over the moon with my Valentines present!!!” Ms Van Der Merwe captioned one graphic photo.

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Merelize Van Der Merwe sparked outrage when she posted multiple videos and photos of her with a dead giraffe she had shot. Picture: Facebook/Merelize Van Der Merwe.

Ms Van Der Merwe’s husband spent $2667 at a game park in Sun City resort making her dream come true after a giraffe was spotted there, she revealed in an interview with British newspaper The Mirror.

“I love the skin and the fact it’s such an iconic animal for Africa,” she said.

“Our plans changed quickly. My wonderful husband Gerhardt knew this was my dream. I was like a child for two weeks, counting the days. Afterwards I was flooded with emotions.”

Ms Van Der Merwe said she plans to turn the slain animal into a rug and “a lot of meat for the locals”.

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She even posed with the dead animal’s heart. Picture: Facebook/Merelize Van Der Merwe.

She defended her actions, claiming that trophy hunters who killed animals for sport created demand for species to be bred.

“Hunting has helped bring back a lot of species from the brink of extinction. The only people protecting these animals are trophy hunters,” Ms Van Der Merwe said.

But plenty of people disagreed, describing Ms Van Der Merwe’s slaying of the giraffe as “cold blood murder” of a “defenceless” animal.

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Ms Van Der Merwe claimed her actions helped protect animals from extinction. Picture: Facebook/Merelize Van Der Merwe.

“How can anyone be proud and get ‘excited’ when you are basically pointing a gun and pulling the trigger? It’s hardly a ’sport’. Nothing to be proud of at all,” one person wrote on Facebook.

“Just horrific … as if this is conservation,” another commented.

Ms Van Der Merwe has since responded to the backlash on Facebook, saying that she wasn’t afraid of the online attacks.

“I‘m a proud hunter and will continue to hunt,” she wrote in one post.

She also hit back at the “animal rights activists” who get “triggered by everything so they go to the supermarket and buy their meat because no animal gets hurt there”.