An American trophy hunter posing in a photo next to a black giraffe that she shot and killed has caused outrage. It sparked a heated online debate on whether or not to ban trophy hunting - the hunting of wild animals for fun. The trophy is the animal (or part of it) kept, and usually displayed, to show the success of the kill. A fee is usually paid to the government to help wildlife conservation. Critics of this say countries earn more from wildlife tourism than from big game hunting. The giraffe's killing is being compared to Cecil the lion, killed by a trophy hunter in 2015.
This latest killing caused a group on Twitter to write: "White American savage...comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe, [because] of South African stupidity." The hunter defended her actions. She said the giraffe was an old male that was attacking and killing young giraffes. She said: "This is called conservation through game management. Now that the giraffe is gone, the younger bulls are able to breed." The president of the Safari Club International defended the woman. He said: "Giraffes are legal to hunt in South Africa."