American ‘huntress’ sparks outrage overseas with dead wild goat trophy photo
A wave of outrage mounted against an American hunter after she posted photos of herself posing with a “beautiful” wild goat she’d killed on the Scottish island of Islay.
The hunter, Larysa Switlyk, who describes herself on Twitter as a “Professional Huntress and Angler,” posted the photos to her social media accounts on Tuesday.
“Beautiful wild goat here on the Island of Islay in Scotland. Such a fun hunt!! They live on the edge of the cliffs of the island and know how to hide well. We hunted hard for a big one for 2 days and finally got on this group. Made a perfect 200 yard shot and dropped him ...,” she wrote on Instagram.
The photo shows her posing behind the animal, with picturesque cliffs in the background.
The photo sparked wide condemnation on Twitter, with many calling the photo “disgraceful” and offensive.
“A unique hunt?” Disgraceful. It’s a goat. And it’s in Scotland. On a beautiful island,” wrote Jody Murray, tennis coach and mother to professional tennis players Jamie and Andy Murray.
The controversy boiled over Wednesday, and Scottish officials took to Twitter to say they were reviewing what could be done.
Scottish Parliament member and Cabinet secretary for the environment Roseanna Cunningham tweeted that “responsible and appropriate culling of animals” was necessary and legal but that officials would “review the situation and consider whether any clarification of or changes to the law might be required.”
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon wrote that it was “totally understandable why the images from Islay of dead animals being held up as trophies is so upsetting and offensive to people.”
Parliament member Michael Russell also tweeted that he had “made it very clear that this is simply wrong — it will damage rather than enhance Scotland’s (&Islay’s) tourism image.”
Russell said hunting of the goats on the island was “very firmly regulated” and “you don’t see people glorifying in it very often,’ the BBC reported.
Switlyk is the host of a show called “Larysa Unleashed,” which features videos of her fishing and hunting, according to her website.
“Larysa Switlyk grew up with three older brothers and a fear of guns. Yet, her upbringing taught her to be strong, courageous and not afraid to try anything. A mixture of a tomboy and model, Larysa is competitive, engaging and adventurous,” her bio reads on the website. The bio says she earned two degrees in accounting before becoming a certified public accountant in New York, but that “she quickly realized she wasn’t a city girl. A gut feeling told her something was missing in her life.”
On her Instagram, Larysa hinted that she had become aware of the firestorm surrounding her photos but also said she was “headed out on a bush plane for my next hunting adventure and will be out of service for 2 weeks,” and so may not know the full extent of the controversy.
“Nothing better than disconnecting from this social media driven world and connecting back with nature. Hopefully that will give enough time for all the ignorant people out there sending me death threats to get educated on hunting and conservation. FYI , I was in Scotland over a month ago ...” she wrote.