Internet erupts after Ricky Gervais tweets photo of smiling hunter and the giraffe she killed

Thanks to British comedian Ricky Gervais, a big game hunter from Utah is the focus of Internet outrage after Gervais tweeted a photo of her lying next to a giraffe she just killed.

Predictably, the photo went viral and Rebecca Francis, a mother of 8, has been reportedly receiving death threats.

Francis’ website and Facebook page are dedicated to posting photos of the exotic animals she pays to kill with a bow and arrow.

“We hunt elk and deer every year without fail, even through pregnancy, and nursing babies. Our hunting trips are self-guided,” Francis wrote on her website.

“I prefer bowhunting, and the animals I have taken with a bow include: a 10 1/2 ft. brown bear, black bear, shiras moose, alaskan moose, dall sheep, stone sheep, desert bighorn ram, rocky mountain bighorn ram, mule deer, whitetail deer, elk, mountain goat, antelope, arapawa ram, kudu, zebra, black wildebeest, giraffe, springbuck, blesbuck, lynx, badger, and squirrel. I have also taken many of the same species and more with a rifle.”

An outspoken advocate of animal rights, Gervais tweeted a photo of Francis lying next to a giraffe she had just killed.

What must’ve happened to you in your life to make you want to kill a beautiful animal & then lie next to it smiling? pic.twitter.com/DyYw1T5ck2

— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 13, 2015

Responding to the outrage, Francis explained that 5 years ago, natives had asked her to kill the giraffe so that they could have the meat because the animal was “inevitably going to die soon.”

“I chose to honor his life by providing others with his uses and I do not regret it for one second,” she insisted. “Once he was down there were people waiting to take his meat.” “They also took his tail to make jewelry, his bones to make other things, and did not waste a single part of him,” Francis continued. “I am grateful to be a part of something so good.”

Featured image via The Raw Story