PETA AU Global Issue 4 2020

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TROPHY HUNTERS’ PERVERTED COMPULSION S afari hunters try to hide their desire to kill behind G A T I O N KILLING FOR PLEASURE A P E T A I N V E S T I • S T I G A T I O N •

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Queen: © Arthur C James | Dreamstime.com • Torn paper: © iStock.com/yasinguneysu

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A Royal Shame

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talk of “conservation” and patronizing claims

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that they are the great white saviors of Africans who “depend” on them. But a new PETA investigation shows that these small people with fragile egos care nothing about wildlife or locals and their way of life. Bullets and Belly Laughs PETA has obtained video footage that shows an American trophy hunter, Aaron Raby, ineptly gunning down an inquisitive young elephant. As paid guides direct him, he shoots the animal, who has peacefully ambled out of the bush only yards away. The elephant falls to his knees and looks at the hunting party. The guides – clearly anxious to make their client happy because he has paid $30,000 for bragging rights and the “thrill” of the kill – do nothing to end the elephant’s misery. As Raby fires again and again, the young elephant begins to rumble, using the language of his species to express his pain and confusion or perhaps to warn away other elephants. How long the elephant suffered before finally dying is unknown, as the recording ends. A crane operator from Los Angeles County, Raby has killed many animals and boasts about it to like-minded friends. He murdered this young elephant near South Africa’s famous Kruger National Park, where the species is protected. But because there are no fences, elephants wander over the invisible boundary and are suddenly at risk of losing their lives. In fact, trophy hunting guides track the movements of animals in the park in order to know exactly when some European or American bwana (boss) can gun animals down. Since When Is Breeding to Kill ‘Conservation’? Those involved in the hunting business breed wild animals specifically to be killed for trophies. PETA followed the money trail and discovered that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa owns a 50% stake in a company called Tsala Hunting Safaris, breeding animals at his own operation, Phala Phala. He then sends them to his hunting ranch, Diepdrift, where foreigners pay to shoot them. The property manager at Lewis Hamilton: © cristiano barni/Shutterstock.com • Bullet holes: © iStock.com/iLexx • Elephant trunk: © iStock.com/primeimage

Queen Elizabeth II has blood on her hands after entering pigeons in the grueling South African Million Dollar Pigeon Race (SAMDPR), in which birds from all over the world are forced to fly hundreds of miles in extreme weather conditions. Only a tiny number finish the race: Most die from exhaustion, dehydration, starvation, or attacks by predators. More than 2,850 birds were “lost” in 2020 SAMDPR events alone. All those entered in the race by Queen Elizabeth died of disease in quarantine before the race even started.

Take Action Now Please visit PETA.org.au/SAMDPR to urge the Queen to end her involvement

Phala Phala has also killed hundreds of animals to sell their flesh as exotic game meat.

in pigeon racing.

Other video obtained by PETA shows a hunting party's ambush of a captive-bred lion who was quietly resting under a tree. The searing pain of the first shot jolts him to his feet, and, wounded, he charges forward to defend his life. The hunter and guides shoot him four more times before killing him, and then stand around laughing.

Take Action Now Raby paid $20,000 to have his victim’s body parts preserved

WHAT A REAL SPORTSMAN LOOKS LIKE

for shipment to the United States. By allowing hunters to ship animals’ heads, tails, and other body parts, UPS facilitates the slaughter of wildlife. Dozens of other air carriers – including Delta, United, American, KLM, British Air, EL AL, and Virgin – do not.

Adding insult to injury, hunter Aaron Raby ate parts of the elephant he killed for a “fun” photo op.

Six-time Formula One World Champion Lewis Hamilton knows a thing or six about trophies, but he has no tolerance for trophy hunting . In reaction to PETA’s video, he tweeted, “I am so angry. This is so sad and unacceptable.”

Please visit PETA.org.au/Trophy to watch and share PETA’s video and to urge UPS to ban the shipment of hunting trophies. UK readers, visit PETAUK.org/TrophyBan and ask Prime Minister Boris Johnson to bring forward legislation banning the import of hunting trophies.

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