Yakut businesspeople Alexei and Galina Yakovlev, along with Yuri Bolshakov, have drawn sharp criticism on\u00a0social media for organizing a\u00a0trophy lion hunt in\u00a0South Africa.<\/p>\n
Galina Yakovleva\u00a0boasted<\/a>\u00a0about the hunt on\u00a0July 5,\u00a0posting<\/a>\u00a0a\u00a0video on\u00a0Instagram that showed her husband shooting a\u00a0resting lion at\u00a0close range while a\u00a0backup hunter and Yakovleva herself stood nearby. \u201cI\u00a0went with my\u00a0husband to\u00a0see firsthand how he\u00a0hunts. It\u00a0turns out it\u2019s hard for a\u00a0woman to\u00a0be\u00a0there in\u00a0the moment. I\u00a0thought you have to\u00a0have spirit to\u00a0go\u00a0after a\u00a0predator. I\u2019m proud of\u00a0my\u00a0husband!\u201d she said.<\/p>\n Yuri Bolshakov described his own lion hunt in\u00a0South Africa in\u00a0even greater detail. He\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0on\u00a0social media that he\u00a0had applied for a\u00a0hunting permit a\u00a0year in\u00a0advance, traveled to\u00a0a\u00a0private game ranch near the Botswana border, tracked a\u00a0lioness for several days, and fired carefully to\u00a0avoid damaging the animal\u2019s hide. He\u00a0ended the post with the words: \u201cThis was not a\u00a0battle. It\u00a0was a\u00a0dialogue between two worlds, in\u00a0which each kept what was its own.\u201d<\/p>\n South Africa\u00a0has<\/a>\u00a0an\u00a0industry built around hunting lions\u00a0and other large predators bred in\u00a0captivity and kept in\u00a0fenced enclosures. Because these animals are accustomed to\u00a0humans, they pose much less danger to\u00a0people and are far less likely to\u00a0escape death than wild animals\u00a0do. Hunters frequently kill such predators for trophies \u2014 hides, fangs, skulls, and similar items \u2014 and hundreds of\u00a0trophies from captive-bred lions are exported from South Africa every year.<\/p>\n Although both Yakovleva and Bolshakov described their hunts with evident pride, social media users\u00a0accused<\/a>\u00a0them of\u00a0killing animals for sport. \u201cNo, you are not Sakha. And you never were. Every Sakha person knows that Baianai does not give prey to\u00a0a\u00a0person who is\u00a0already full. And you are certainly full, having flown to\u00a0another continent. Every Sakha person knows that killing an\u00a0animal for something other than food is\u00a0a\u00a0great sin. [\u2026] Every Sakha person knows that the strength of\u00a0our people lies in\u00a0preserving the balance between nature and humanity,\u201d\u00a0wrote<\/a>\u00a0Dayiyna, a\u00a0blogger and photographer from Yakutia.<\/p>\n The backlash forced Galina Yakovleva and Yuri Bolshakov to\u00a0delete<\/a>\u00a0their posts with photos from Africa and set their Instagram accounts to\u00a0private. Outraged users then turned to\u00a0the page of\u00a0the Uchur hunting supply stores owned by\u00a0Bolshakov, where the most recent posts are now flooded with comments containing the word \u201cshame\u201d and calls to\u00a0cancel the brand.<\/p>\n \u201cIn\u00a0Yakutia, Baianai is\u00a0held sacred. We\u00a0ask the taiga for prey to\u00a0feed our families, and we\u00a0give thanks for\u00a0it. To\u00a0kill for sport, for the hide of\u00a0an\u00a0animal that poses no\u00a0threat to\u00a0you and that you will not eat, is\u00a0a\u00a0great\u00a0sin. By\u00a0our laws, such boasting strips a\u00a0person of\u00a0their luck. Yuri [Bolshakov, through his Uchur stores] sells clothing for local tourists and promotes the culture of\u00a0Yakutia, but he\u00a0has trampled its central principle \u2014 respect for the living,\u201d an\u00a0unnamed Yakut hunter\u00a0told<\/a>\u00a0the Russian news outlet SakhaLife.<\/p>\n At\u00a0Meduza, we\u00a0are committed to\u00a0transparency about our use of\u00a0artificial intelligence in\u00a0the newsroom. The story you\u2019re reading was written by\u00a0one of\u00a0our living, breathing journalists and translated from Russian using an\u00a0AI\u00a0model configured to\u00a0follow our strict editorial standards. This translation process is\u00a0the result of\u00a0extensive testing and refinements to\u00a0ensure our English-language coverage is\u00a0timely and accurate. A\u00a0Meduza editor reviews every draft before publication.<\/p>\n If\u00a0you find any errors in\u00a0this translation, please contact us\u00a0at\u00a0[email\u00a0protected]<\/a>.<\/p>\n To\u00a0read Meduza\u2019s exclusive content in\u00a0English, please subscribe to\u00a0our newsletter<\/a>.<\/p>\n