A Kentucky woman who faced death threats after posing in photos with a giraffe she killed has not shied away from hunting.
Nearly a year after the images went viral, Tess Talley told CBS This Morning she is “proud to hunt” and “proud of that giraffe.”
In a CBS documentary about trophy hunting, Talley said that the animal was “delicious” and said she made pillows and a gun case out of its pelt.
In 2017, she shared photos of the South Africa hunt with the caption “Prayers for my once in a lifetime dream hunt came true today!”, the AP reported.
The following year, the images generated an outcry on social media after they were posted by an account that called her a “white American savage.”
The backlash that ensued became so intense that people were spreading addresses where she may be, showing up at her workplace and contacting her employer in an effort to get her fired, Talley told CBS on Friday.
She responded to the criticism by saying that killing the black giraffe was part of a population management effort. She said she wouldn’t hunt if she didn’t think it would aid with conservation.
WATCH: U.S. hunter triggers outrage after posing with ‘trophy kill’ giraffe
Asked why she appeared pleased in the photo, Talley said there’s a long tradition of hunters posing with their kills.
“When social media came around, that’s when there was an issue,” she said.
The Giraffe Conservation Foundation estimates there are 111,000 giraffes remaining in throughout Africa.
— With files from The Associated Press