Daughter disowns father after picture of him proudly kissing wife next to slaughtered lion goes viral: 'You are a horrible person'
The daughter of a Canadian couple who angered the internet after they were snapped kissing in front of a lion they had just killed during a trophy hunt has disowned them.
We previously reported that Darren and Carolyn Carter, of Edmonton, Alberta, had made the kill while taking part in a trip run by South African company Legelela Safaris, which advertises hunting packages for tourists. The tour operator was the first to share the picture of the couple kissing in front of the slain big cat, uploading it with the caption, "Hard work in the Kalahari sun... well done. A monster lion."
The page had also shared another photo of the same couple posing in front of a second dead lion, captioning it, "There is nothing like hunting the king of the jungle in the sands of the Kalahari. Well done to the happy huntress and the team..." The photos incurred the wrath of social media, who termed it "sick," "evil" and "disgusting," with one user writing, "I am thoroughly disgusted and appalled at these people. This is all for sport and it is absolutely disgusting. This has to stop now!"
The intense backlash saw Legelela Safaris take down their social media pages. Darren and Carolyn, who run a taxidermy business, had to also shut down their Facebook and Instagram pages as well as the website for their company.
But the biggest blow arguably came from YouTuber Shessosyd!, who Mirror reported to be Darren's 19-year-old daughter Sydney Carter.
In a video she uploaded on YouTube on Tuesday, July 16, she disowns her father, telling her followers, "I refuse to call him my dad anymore, who does that? I will never understand people like that – who take pride in shooting a beautiful animal like a lion. I’ll never understand it."
Sydney said she had not seen her dad in 10 years and was outraged that he had shelled out $15,000 on a hunt while he had cut off child support to her when she started university. "So, Darren, if you’re ever watching this, just know that I don't call you my dad anymore," she announced. "You are a horrible person."
"Knowing you trophy hunt beautiful animals like lions, who are slowly becoming endangered, is just… it's too much," she continued. "I'm someone who loves animals and wouldn't want anyone to hurt them, and to know that my own father does that – I don’t even consider you my dad anymore." She also said she hopes he never contacts her or her mother again.