Tess Thompson Talley: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know

Twitter/AfriclandpostTess Thompson Talley

Tess Thompson Talley, a Kentucky woman, is the subject of controversy after photos of her posing with a dead black giraffe on a hunting trip went viral.

The outcry against the American hunter is somewhat reminiscent of the outrage that erupted when an American dentist killed a popular lion on a hunting trip, although no one’s accusing Talley of illegality. In the case of Tess Talley, the giraffe photos have angered animal rights activists, but she has defended her actions as conservation, and such trophy hunting is legal in some African countries.

Here’s what you need to know:

1. Talley Reportedly Called It a ‘Lifetime Dream Hunt’

Tess Thompson Talley

It appears that Talley, 37, first posted photos from the hunt on social media in 2017. It’s just that they weren’t found by others until recently, at which time they went viral.

“Prayers for my once in a lifetime Dream hunt came true today!” she wrote on Facebook at the time, indicating that “they did get 2,000 pounds of meat from the large male giraffe,” according to KXAN-TV.

The rest of the post read, “Spotted this rare black giraffe bull and stalked him for quite awhile. I knew it was the one. He was over 18 years old, 4,000 lbs and was blessed to be able to get 2,000 lbs of meat from him.”

When a friend wrote recently on Facebook, “she’s out ya’all,” Talley wrote, “Prob not long.. fb seems to be against women hunting lol.” Her Facebook profile and cover pictures show her with other dead animals.

On Facebook, Tess Talley belongs to Facebook groups that include “Hunting is my passion,” “Deer hunting club,” “Girls With Guns Clothing,” and a Cajun restaurant.

Friends have filled her thread with supportive comments, with some indicating they’ve received hate mail about her. “I also get the same hate mail. Sorry I think it is funny. Those spineless fools only are masters of a keyboard not reality. Stay strong Tess!” wrote one man.

2. The Photos Went Viral After a Group Called Talley a ‘White American Savage’ in a Tweet

AfricaDigest@africlandpost

White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe coutrsey of South Africa stupidity. Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share

12:09 PM – Jun 16, 2018

• 22K
• 43.4K people are talking about this

If Tess Talley’s photos date to 2017, why did they go viral in June 2018? That was due to a post on Twitter by a group called Africlandpost.

“White american savage who is partly a neanderthal comes to Africa and shoot down a very rare black giraffe coutrsey of South Africa stupidity. Her name is Tess Thompson Talley. Please share,” the tweet says. It’s accompanied by two photos that show Tess Talley with the dead giraffe.

That group runs a news page devoted to articles about the African continent and its people. The photos then went viral on social media.

According to Patch, the hunt took place in South Africa.

3. Talley Defended Herself & Said Giraffes Are Black Because They Darken With Age

app-facebook

Hunters Against PETA

about 10 months ago

Here’s Tess Thompson Talley with her great looking giraffe from her June 2017 South Africa hunt!! Congrats Tess! It provided over 2,000 lbs of meat to local villagers. #huntingafrica #huntingisconservation #hunting#giraffehunting

Also here is Tess again with a sweet looking Texas mule deer she killed back in 2016. 25 inch spread!! #muledeer

In an email to Fox News, Talley defended herself, writing, “The giraffe I hunted was the South African sub-species of giraffe. The numbers of this sub-species is actually increasing due, in part, to hunters and conservation efforts paid for in large part by big game hunting. The breed is not rare in any way other than it was very old. Giraffes get darker with age.”

Fox News further reported, “She points out that the giraffe she killed was 18, too old to breed, and had killed three younger bulls who were able to breed, causing the herd’s population to decrease,” quoting Talley as saying, “This is called conservation through game management.”

In addition to the sheer majestic nature of the animal in the photos, the fact the animal was described as a rare black giraffe has also driven some of the outrage. However, why are giraffes black? Is it really because they age?

According to Life Science, giraffes do darken with age. “And new research suggests the appearance change takes about 1.8 years to complete, with male giraffes being completely covered in coal-black blotches by an average age of 9.4 years,” the science site reports.

At the most, giraffes live to be about 22 years.

4. Ted Nugent Defended Tess Talley on Facebook & the Giraffes Are Increasing in the Wild

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Ted Nugent

19 hours ago

Ignorance is one thing but the insanity of scrambling to avoid information and truth to eliminate ignorance is downright toxic and obscene. Giraffes must be managed just like deer and elk and bears and cougars etc etc etc. How stupid and embarrassing can people be.
American hunter’s images of her black giraffe ‘trophy kill’ spark outrage – Fox News
https://apple.news/AVfLLtQPMQricfDlOEgyWvA

American hunter’s images of her black giraffe ‘trophy kill’ spark outrage — Fox News

Photos of a female hunter from Kentucky proudly showing off the results of her “dream hunt” – a dead black giraffe in South Africa – have ignited a firestorm across social media after being picked up by a local media outlet.

APPLE.NEWS

Not everyone is criticizing Tess Talley. Ted Nugent took to Facebook to defend her.

“Ignorance is one thing but the insanity of scrambling to avoid information and truth to eliminate ignorance is downright toxic and obscene. Giraffes must be managed just like deer and elk and bears and cougars etc etc etc. How stupid and embarrassing can people be,” Nugent wrote along with a story about Tess Talley’s supposed “trophy kill.”

Julian Fennessy, Ph.D., co-founder of the organization Giraffe Conservation Foundation, told Yahoo News that the giraffe in the photo “is of the South African species Giraffa giraffa, which are not rare— they’re increasing in the wild.”

Fennessy also told the site: “Legal hunting of giraffe is not a reason for their decline, despite the moral and ethical side of it which is a different story.”

5. People Have Expressed Anger on Social Media

Anonymous Scandinavia #ReconnectAssange #ActNow@AnonScan

…
Tess Thompson Talley…

Are you proud of what you have been doing during the last couple of years#Wildlife https://www.facebook.com/tess.thompson.58 …

8:28 AM – Jun 29, 2018

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• 25 people are talking about this

Tweets criticizing Tess Talley have filled social media. “This is horrible! Shame on Tess Thompson Talley!! She went from Kentucky to Africa to kill things. Not to feed her family, just for pleasure, for trophies,” wrote one man.

View image on Twitter

Rap Scallion@RapScal63531601

Wow

Thank goodness we have humans like Tess Thompson Talley in this world.
Imagine if these majestic creatures were aloud to live…
Thanks Tess.

P. S
Never have I ever hated someone I’ve never met more than I hate you.

feel free to turn that rifle round#TessThompsonTalley

11:28 AM – Jun 30, 2018

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• See Rap Scallion’s other Tweets

“Okay Twitter do your thing. This woman murdered this beautiful creature for her own selfishness,” read another post. Many of the tweets use language too graphic to reprint.

Celebrities also weighed in with actress Debra Messing calling Talley “a disgusting, vile, amoral, heartless, selfish murderer.”