Two French supermarket managers have been forced to quit after pictures emerged of them posing with dead animals they had hunted while on safari.
The photographs show the married couple, who had managed a Super U supermarket in the French town of L’Arbresle, posing with the corpses of various animals; including lions, hippopotamus, alligators, leopards, ostriches and zebras.
There was a fierce public backlash against the couple and Super U after the pictures were first unearthed on Thursday, July 11. The husband and wife managerial team have now been forced to resign from their positions.
As reported by Euronews, these newly emerged photographs can be partially traced back to a safari organised by an unnamed South African company in 2014.
Other photographs come from a 2016 interview given by the wife on a pro-hunting website, as reported by Euronews. The article itself is now unavailable.
The images in question show the pair posing beside a variety of wild animals, amidst others who had also participated in the trophy hunting expeditions.
As per The Local, the couple reportedly partook in a ‘captive hunt’ in 2015. A captive hunt is where trophy hunters shoot at animals which are kept within an enclosed area, guaranteeing hunters a kill.
It is not immediately understood how these controversial images emerged. However, as reported by The Local, copies were released by French animal welfare charity 30 Millions d’Amis, which translates in English as ’30 Million Friends’.
The photos sparked an outcry amongst French animal rights advocates, some of whom called for a boycott of the L’Arbresle store ran by the couple.
The Super U grocery store chain have since released the following statement in light of the controversy:
These images go against the values and commitments upheld by the U retail cooperative. We firmly condemn them, even though they relate to private activities by the supermarket owners,
In light of the condemnation raised by these activities within the cooperative and the legitimate emotion among the public, the shop’s managers have decided to immediately leave the chain and their shop in L’Arbresle.
Super U have stated new managers will now be hired to fill these positions at the L’Arbresle store, which will reportedly reopen for business on Thursday, July 18.
Dr Mark Jones, Head of Policy at Born Free, told UNILAD:
It’s clear from this story that general public opinion on trophy hunting is still one of disgust however it still remains legal to this day and so much more needs to be done.
Trophy hunting is a cruel and damaging relic of a colonial era that causes immense animal suffering and disrupts wildlife social groups and populations, while doing virtually nothing to help wildlife conservation or local communities who live alongside wild animals.
In the last decade alone almost 300,000 trophies from threatened wild animals were exported around the world.
Born Free campaigns tirelessly with airlines, travel and shipping companies to ban the transportation of trophies, whilst putting pressure on governments around the world to introduce a ban on the import of hunting trophies, to bring this archaic activity to an end.
According to statistics published by the Humane Society International, 200,000 endangered or threatened animals are killed each year by trophy hunters.
Not only is trophy hunting harmful for conservation efforts, it also makes a very low contribution to the economy. Out of the eight key African countries, trophy hunting contributes towards just 0.03 per cent of gross domestic product (GDP) at the very most.
Wildlife-watching tourism is far more profitable for such countries, generating a much greater income to support conservation efforts while providing more employment opportunities for local people.
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Jules studied English Literature with Creative Writing at Lancaster University before earning her masters in International Relations at Leiden University in The Netherlands (Hoi!). She then trained as a journalist through News Associates in Manchester. Jules has previously worked as a mental health blogger, copywriter and freelancer for various publications.