PETA releases footage of elephant killer to pressure passage of bill against trophy hunting

Trophy hunter Aaron Raby who recently killed a baby elephant in South Africa claims he is on the receiving end of online abuse after People for Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) released video footage of his hunting episode on Monday. The animal support group has been lobbying for legislation that seeks to ban the importation and possession of endangered African animals.

California native Raby went on a hunting expedition to South Africa in December and paid more than £23,000 so he can shoot and kill a tusked elephant. To celebrate his successful kill, he had a piece of the elephant's meat for dinner with a sliced tomato and avocado. He also paid an additional £7,700 to have the head of his prized catch preserved as a souvenir of his adventure to take back home.

If the state of California heeds PETA's call into action, Raby may never get his hands on his trophy as the elephant head is still in South Africa being prepared by a taxidermist.

PETA released the video footage of Raby's kill in an effort to pressure lawmakers to enact the legislation, Senate Bill1175, which seeks to ban hunters from keeping and bringing home their trophies. This would cover any animal parts of endangered and vulnerable African species such as elephants, rhinos and lions.

As of today, the bill has been passed in the State Senate and PETA expects this to pass the Assembly this week.

Raby, a "blue-collar" crane operator said that he had been swarmed with threats and online harassment before when he posted a photo of himself with a lion he had killed. He is known to post images of his kills on his Facebook and YouTube as well as on AfricaHunting.com, a website dedicated for hunters like him.

Raby firmly maintains, "I don't understand why this is anybody's business but my own. What I did is legal. I didn't break a law. They're going to place a ban because a bunch of ... crybabies that don't like hunting."

California passed a similar bill in the Senate and Assembly two years ago. However the bill was vetoed by then Gov. Jerry Brown who said the trophy ban was unenforceable.

The video shared by PETA has received a lot of impassioned disdain from across the globe. It shows a lone young elephant walking in Kruger National Park which is supposedly a protected area for these animals. Raby takes aim and shoots the elephant four times then shoots three more close range shots hitting the elephant's head. The elephant crumbles onto its knees and is seen breathing heavily and struggling to prop itself up.

He has hunted and slain hundreds of animals across several countries and continents from North America, Europe, Africa and Russia. The elephant marks his last quest of the "Big Five" as he has already killed a rhinoceros, Cape buffalo,a leopard and a lion.

Raby adds that he would leave California if the new legislation is passed into law.