Kentucky Woman Under Fire for Killing Giraffe in South Africa

Actress Debra Messing has also spoken out against the killing.

July 4, 2018

Hunting — Image via Getty/Hans Berggren
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Three years after Cecil the Lion was hunted and killed, another animal may find fame because of the same unfortunate fate.

A few weeks ago, Twitter page AfricaDigest, called out a hunter, Tess Thompson Talley of Kentucky, who shot-and-killed a giraffe.

"White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe coutrsey (sic) of South Africa stupidity," read one tweet. "If our so called governments can't care for our wildlife then its time we stand up and responsibility of our continent, lands, resources and wildlife....share share share! and lets have a united voice against pillage of Africa, it's the only home we have," read another.

Will & Grace actress Debra Messing took a screenshot of the tweet and posted her own message on Instagram which called the hunter a "disgusting, vile, amoral, heartless, selfish murderer." She continued: "With joy in her black heart and a beaming smile she lies next to the dead carcass of a *rare* black giraffe in South Africa. Giraffes are the epitome of gentle giants."

Talley has since attempted to defend herself.

"The giraffe I hunted was the South African subspecies of giraffe," she told Today. "The numbers of this subspecies 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."