A woman who posed with the dead body and heart of a giraffe that she hunted is defending her deadly hobby.
Merelize Van Der Merwe, 32, took to Facebook on Valentine's Day to share photos of her posing with the cut-out heart of the giraffe she had just killed.
She explained in the caption that the heart was a Valentine's Day "present" from her husband.
"Ever wondered how big a giraffe's heart is? I'm absolutely over the moon with my BIG valentines present!!! [sic]," Van Der Merwe wrote.
In an earlier post, she revealed that her husband had paid for her to shoot the mammal and also posted two photos of it after she'd killed it.
She explained in the caption: "Two weeks ago a dear friend Chrisjan Bakker contacted me regarding my request for a big old bull and I couldn't believe my eyes, big black, and old, so old that he was way over his time and the owner didn't know if he will last another 3 months!!!
"My husband booked a trip for us to the palace of the lost city situated in Sun City for our Valentine's weekend, but our plans changed quickly."
Van Der Merwe went on to say that her "wonderful husband" knew that this was her dream and "fully supported" her.
"I was literally like a little child for two weeks and counted down the days. Afterwards I was flooded with emotions as I've been waiting years to have this opportunity!!"
Despite her evident enthusiasm for hunting wild animals, she has widely been criticized for the killing.
One person commented: "Wow, you shot down an old harmless giraffe. Great trophy that. Be very proud of yourself. Well done to purposely contributing to their loss in population."
Another said: "Nothing more than sick. The only comforting thought is like all of us, one day your life will end."
It didn't take long for her posts to go viral and spark backlash around the world.
But in spite of the backlash, Van Der Merwe has remained defiant in her belief that hunting animals for sport is not unethical.
In fact, she even laughed at the idea of there being a petition against her. Taking to Facebook she wrote: "New petition against me.... thought I'll help their small minded cause a bit."
Now in an interview with The Mirror, Van Der Merwe, who started hunting aged five, claimed that killing the giraffe actually helped to save threatened species in South Africa.
She said the death of the old giraffe would mean "a new bull can take over and provide new strong genetics for the herd."
Furthermore, she claimed that it created "work for 11 people that day" and "a lot of meat for the locals."
Van Der Merwe added: "If hunting is banned, animals will become worthless and will disappear. Hunting has helped bring back a lot of species from the brink of extinction. The only people protecting these animals are trophy hunters."
It should be noted, however, that conservationists deny the claim that killing old giraffes helps younger members of the species.
But Dr Mark Jones of the Born Free Foundation told the publication: "Trophy hunters' claims they are concerned about wildlife conservation are highly misleading.
"Trophy hunting is not a conservation tool, nor does it contribute significant funds to local communities."
