‘They must be vegetarians’: Saudi big game hunter dismisses criticism over killing a giraffe before declaring he wants to eat a baby ELEPHANT 

  •  Rashed al-Hajri, 42, said he had official permit to kill the giraffe in Tanzania
  •  He has enraged animal lovers by promising to kill and eat a baby elephant

A Saudi Arabian hunter who outraged animal lovers by slaughtering a giraffe in Africa for his guests and recording the butchery has made matters worse by saying he planned to kill and eat a baby elephant.

Rashed al-Hajri, 42, is the latest in a stream of big game hunters who have been vilified for bragging over their kills.

But unlike American dentist Walter Palmer - who apologised after a video emerged last year of him killing Cecil the lion - al-Hajri is unrepentant.

al-Hajri poses with the giraffe
al-Hajri poses with the giraffe

Rashed al-Hajri is pictured posing with the carcass of the giraffe, which was hunted and killed in Tanzania

In an interview with alAlArabiya.net al-Hajri said the giraffe killing was completely legal because he had an official permit from the Tanzanian state. 

He said the slaughtering of the giraffe was done by the book, and in accordance with the law. 

The Saudi hunter said he had the utmost respect for his critics but then added 'they are probably vegetarians, who don’t eat meat all together'.

al-Hajri butchers the carcass
The giraffe carcass

Rashed al-Hajri (pictured, left) has outraged animal lovers but he said he had an official hunting permit from the Tanzanian government 

Al-Hajri assured his supporters among the hunting community he planned many more grisly surprises and said he dreamed of slaughtering a baby elephant, and tasting its flesh.

The Saudi butcher said: 'I respect all opinions. We did indeed slaughter and eat the giraffe; nevertheless we donated the meat to the less fortunate and the poor. God willing, there will be more surprises along the way.'

He encouraged people to try out giraffe meat and said he had asked Saudi restaurants to start putting its meat on their menus, claiming it is much tastier than sheep and camel meat.