Merelize Van Der Merwe identifies herself as a public figure on Facebook. What makes her famous? Her big game hunts. While most people are against hunting wildlife for sport, it seems as if Merelize doesn't understand the severity of these actions.
The most recent hunt that got her in hot water happened around Valentine's Day. Merelize shared a picture where she was standing in a celebratory pose in front of a dead giraffe. Giraffes, who are quite majestic and known as our tallest mammals — don't have too many natural predators. But one of their biggest is humans.
After the picture circulated, Merelize found herself with a lot of newfound enemies. But she seems to be taking the criticism in stride. In fact, she even helped publicize a petition set to remove her from Facebook.
Merelize makes no excuse for who she is. In her Facebook bio, she proudly posts, "Hunting is not just something I do it's who I am, Africa is not just where I live it's my home. Take the journey with me!!!" She even revealed that it hasn't been the first time she's been reported for her sport.
Pictures of the heart itself are too graphic to show. But in one post, she holds it up proudly, with the caption, "Ever wondered how big a giraffe's heart is?
I'm absolutely over the moon with my BIG valentines present!!!"
According to the Mirror, Merelize started hunting at the age of 5. She has killed countless animals in that time and has said that a bull giraffe was always on her wish list. She even told the story about how the opportunity came about on her page.
"I set out in 2016 on a quest to hunt a big black giraffe bull," she said. "But none was what I was looking for. I contacted almost everyone I knew who had bulls black and old enough to fit the bill. In 2017 I found a bull but unfortunately one of my friends got to him first and jokingly we said we had duel custody over it. I had but all given up hope the last 2 years, filtering through 60+ photos of bulls."
"Two weeks ago a dear friend Chrisjan Bakker contacted me regarding my request for a big old bull and I couldn't believe my eyes, BIG BLACK and 0LD, so old that he was way over his time and the owner didn't know if he will last another 3 months!!!" she said. "My husband booked a trip for us to the palace of the lost city situated in Sun City for our Valentines weekend, but our plans changed quickly."
"Afterwards I was flooded with emotions as I've been waiting years to have this opportunity!!" she concluded. "I would please like to thank the following people — My husband who understands passion for hunting and supporting me no matter what The PH and friend Chrisjan Bakker Wouter who did all the hard work for us and then skinning team."
According to the petition against her, posting such grisly images on her public page isn't new. "On her 'public figure' page, this monster shares images of the endangered species she massacres. Amongst them are giraffes, elephants and leopards," the Change.org page reads. "She also shares imagery and videos of herself covered in blood, of dead children and her and her fellow barbarians chopping up their victims."
When Merelize isn't hunting, she reportedly runs a citrus farm that's located in South Africa's northern Limpopo province. Despite all of the protest, she believes that killing the bull giraffe was actually good for its species. As you might assume, many people don't agree with this bold statement.
In fact, she stated that "a new bull can take over and provide new strong genetics for the herd" with the one that was selfishly taken. A representative for PETA stepped forward to tell the New York Post that they thought as if Merelize's joy over killing the giraffe was likely tied to illness. "Someone who kills another sentient being, cuts out their heart, and boasts about it fits the definition of a sociopath," they said.
What seems even more disturbing is the fact that Merelize seems to have a heart for many of the animals who live on her farm. Or at the very least, she has trouble saying goodbye when they're sold. "Taking out 1 or 2 is fine but saying goodbye to so many animals yesterday left me with a broken heart," she commented on Facebook.
Her claims about how killing the animal would help with conservation of the species is reasoning that many trophy game hunters try to use. But according to One Green Planet, those claims aren't valid. "True conservation activities should involve the local community in a way that is sustainable, and trophy hunting does not accomplish this ideal," the site states.
But no matter what, it seems like there's no stopping Merelize. In fact, she welcomed the negative attention that she was getting after the image went live. "While I make headlines across the globe thought I'll take a second to have a beer and enjoy our game farm," she wrote in a post. "I hope that I can at least claim some profit from all the kleenex used this week for all the emotionally unstable people out there."
No matter what, it's important for someone like Merelize to spread facts about hunting. Back in the day, hunting was necessary for finding food. And it's accurate that animals are a big source of protein. But hunting now is more of a sport that very often causes harm to animal populations. And when it's an animal that would then be used to create a rug — as is Merelize's plan with the giraffe — it's even more cruel. Even if the animal didn't have a lot of time left, she should have let nature take its course.
Right now, one of the best ways to actually conserve the giraffe population in Africa is to support the Giraffe Conservation Foundation. This foundation has been created to aid the giraffe population in a safe and loving way. It even has an Adopt a Giraffe program so that you can get to know and support a giraffe on a more personal level.
