Elephant hunter shoots himself in foot Blood money' for elephant charity

A VIDEO of an American businessman shooting an elephant dead has raised thousands of pounds for a Scottish conservation charity after a rival firm used the graphic footage to woo customers away.

Bob Parsons, founder of internet firm GoDaddy.com, posted a four-minute holiday video of himself killing an elephant during a night-time expedition in Zimbabwe with a team of hunters. Mr Parsons claims the shooting was a solution to crops being destroyed by elephants.

However, rival company Namecheap offered to donate $1 for every customer who opened a new account with them to Save the Elephants, founded by Scottish zoologist Dr Iain Douglas-Hamilton.

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More than $20,000 (12,250) has been raised so far for the animal charity.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) condemned Mr Parsons's actions and have called for a boycott of his web domain business.

In the video, Mr Parsons is seen standing in a field of green sorghum whose stalks have been trampled.

A graphic on the video states: "Properly dealing with problem elephants saves crops, feeds villages and helps maintain elephant herds.

"Damage is extensive. Unless elephants are stopped entire crop may be lost. When crops are lost subsistence farmers risk starvation."

The following morning swarms of what the video calls "hungry villagers" - some in orange GoDaddy.com hats - hack at the elephant for meat while rock music plays in the background.

Dr Douglas-Hamilton, son of Lord David Douglas-Hamiltion, said: "It's a very sad, tragic thing when elephants have to be shot. I find the glorification totally out of place."

He said the issue was more complicated than portrayed by the video and did not believe the villagers were starving, though he said meat is valued and worth a long walk.

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"You can't control crop raiding in Africa through foreign hunters," added Dr Douglas-Hamilton. "It's not going to work. It's a perk for people who enjoy killing elephants to justify themselves."

The charity said it had not solicited the donation but appreciated the support "as a constructive reaction" to the video.

Namecheap, a domain name registration company, said it was disturbed by the video and decided to "throw our support behind our elephant friends" by offering website name transfers for $4.99, with $1 going to the elephants.

Mr Parsons wrote on his website that he goes to Zimbabwe every year to hunt problem elephants. He said it is "one of the most beneficial and rewarding things I do".

Shooting an elephant in most African countries is illegal, but such hunts can be done in countries that offer a limited number of expensive permits.Elephant numbers dropped precipitously in the 1970s and 1980s, but have recovered since then.

A 2007 survey by the African Elephant Specialist Group found that Zimbabwe had 84,000 elephants.

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