GoDaddy CEO's Elephant Hunt Prompts Fury

He cites humanitarian effort behind graphic video of killing
By Matt Cantor,  Newser Staff
Posted Mar 31, 2011 2:50 PM CDT
GoDaddy CEO Bob Parson's Elephant Hunt Video Prompts Fury
A screen grab from the video.   (Video.me)

GoDaddy.com's chief executive is facing viewers' wrath after he posted a graphic video of himself hunting an elephant. In the clip—see it here at the Huffington Post—CEO Bob Parsons cast the hunt as a “humanitarian” mission. Many Zimbabweans “die each year from starvation,” thanks in part to elephants that destroy their crops, he said. But many have been shocked by the clip—which features the animal being carved up by villagers to the sounds of AC/DC—and PETA is calling for a boycott of the web hosting company’s services.

The video also zooms in on the company logo worn on baseball caps, which isn't sitting well. “I don't know what's worse: you murdering a defenseless and endangered animal or thinking it's cool to brag and post a video about it,” notes a comment on Parsons’ video channel. Parsons has offered an explanation, adds Good magazine: “These people have literally nothing and when an elephant is killed it's a big event for them, they are going to be able to eat some protein.” Click through for Parsons’ comments in full. (More elephant stories.)

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