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Ch 7 in Australia is now showing an image. I will post it up here later.

https://www.facebook.com/7NewsAustralia/photos/a.166532086690326/4672494536094036?type=3&sfns=mo
WARNING: GRAPHIC IMAGES 📌 7news.link/TrophyHunter

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Hunter Merelize Van Der Merwe poses with heart of giraffe she just shot in South Africa
Lucy Quaggin
7NEWS
Published: 22/02/2021
Updated: Monday, 22 February 2021 2:25 pm AEDT
Tiger makes singing noises to communicate
(Source: NBC)
Current Time 0:00
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Duration 0:36


Tiger makes singing noises to communicate

WARNING: DISTRESSING CONTENT

Widespread outrage has followed a female hunter’s social media post of a picture of herself holding the heart of a giraffe she’d just killed in South Africa.

Merelize Van Der Merwe, 32, took to Facebook to share a number of confronting images of the dead giraffe and its heart.

Her husband reportedly paid around $2600 for the killing of the 17-year-old giraffe at the game park on Valentine’s Day.

The woman has also posted videos of her hunting the animal and a lengthy caption about the killing.

“I was literally like a little child for two weeks and counted down the days,” she said.

Van Der Merwe is a staunch supporter of the sustainable hunting industry and calls the controversial sport “part of who she is”.

The hunter claimed the giraffe was “so old that he was way over his time and the owner didn’t know if he will last another 3 months!!!”.

Alongside the caption, she posted two images with her looking elated next to the big animal.
One of the images the hunter posted.
One of the images the hunter posted. Credit: Merelize van der Merwe
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Merelize’s Facebook page has over 80,000 followers - made up of a mixture of hunting enthusiasts and animal rights activists, who disagree with her.

In recent posts, she put up videos and images of the giraffe’s heart that had been cut out of the body.

“Ever wondered how big a giraffe’s heart is?” she wrote alongside a picture of it.

“I’m absolutely over the moon with my BIG Valentine present!!!”
Merelize van der Merwe thought killing the animal was a beautiful gift from her husband and she was proud to share the experience.
Merelize van der Merwe thought killing the animal was a beautiful gift from her husband and she was proud to share the experience. Credit: Facebook
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The images have divided her social media followers, with people on both sides having their say.

“Killing a helpless animal is not a sport. It’s lunacy,” one person said.

“Without hunting, there would be no wildlife. People have forgotten where food comes from, how to harvest it, how to process it!” another said.

“She wasn’t hunting and killing this beautiful animal because it threatened her livestock, or her own life, nor was she killing it feed her family ... it is sad,” a third chimed in.

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