In the wake of the news that surfaced yesterday of Zimbabwe’s beloved lion Cecil being killed by American dentist Walter Palmer — the big game hunter who illegally lured the animal away from the preserve where it was protected — reactions have been strong. So far, we’ve seen Palmer’s dental practice get trashed online, and even Jimmy Kimmel gave a heartfelt statement during his monologue last night.
Ricky Gervais also unsurprisingly weighed in on the subject. Gervais is an ardent and outspoken animal rights activist, who was responsible for the public shaming of a woman who posted a smiling photo of herself next to a giraffe she just killed on social media earlier this year.
On Tuesday, Gervais tweeted the following:
RIP #CecilTheLion
I'm struggling to imagine anything more beautiful than this pic.twitter.com/lile3Kb2dk— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 28, 2015
It's not for food. It's not the shooting, or tin cans would do. It must just be the thrill of killing. Mental. http://t.co/0fjtXoC1ML
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 28, 2015
Of course, as I mentioned, this is hardly the first time Gervais has brought up the subject of big game hunting and other animal-related causes on Twitter. Here are some of the other things he’s said on the social media platform over time:
https://twitter.com/rickygervais/status/586839357690138624
My post about the giraffe hunter was seen by 27 million people on Twitter & Facebook in just one day. Keep up the good work. It all helps :)
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 12, 2015
The West African Black Rhino has been officially declared extinct. It was hunted for its horn. Shame on our species. pic.twitter.com/hAljGZmRTT
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 14, 2015
What must've happened to you in your life to make you want to kill a beautiful animal & then lie next to it smiling? pic.twitter.com/DyYw1T5ck2
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 13, 2015
After killing that giraffe out of the kindness of her heart and feeding the poor locals she had these for pudding. pic.twitter.com/P3nP4ACDKI
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 16, 2015
This Tofu & Rice was old and sad and wanted me to kill it. Now I will eat it. pic.twitter.com/5vsstpUZaL
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 16, 2015
"I kill lions, giraffes & bears with guns & bows and arrows then pose grinning. Why don't people like me? Must be because they're sexist"
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 17, 2015
We need to stamp out this terrible sexism in the noble sport of trophy hunting. The men & women that do it are EQUALLY vile & worthless.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 18, 2015
These psycho trophy hunters always have stuff about their family being everything to them on their profiles. Elephants love their family too
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 18, 2015
The trophies I'm proudest of are the memories of all those times I didn't kill a beautiful, majestic, endangered species for no reason.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 18, 2015
Imagine getting all dressed up to look good knowing you're about to murder a baby elephant's mother and take a selfie with it.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 18, 2015
Even hunters who shoot what they eat agree that TROPHY Hunting and killing for sick thrills is wrong. How can anyone disagree with this?
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 22, 2015
It's critical now. Poaching and Trophy Hunting are causing extinction. Don't believe anything different. They kill for fun & money.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) April 22, 2015
The only way Fox Hunting would count as vermin control is if the posh twats fell off their horses and broke their necks. #KeepTheBan
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 16, 2015
In the wake of that dick head paying to shoot an endangered rhino for "conservation" I though I'd post this again pic.twitter.com/0ekKMNykXk
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) May 20, 2015
Why would anyone want the right to dress up and chase a fox to watch it ripped apart by dogs? I honestly don't get it. #KeepTheBan
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 9, 2015
Fox Hunting is not about pest control. It's about dressing up and enjoying a terrified animal being ripped apart. Sadistic thrill seeking.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 10, 2015
It's 2015. How the hell are we still trying to decide if we should allow posh psychopaths to torture wildlife if they like it? #Keeptheban
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 12, 2015
I love how some people are angrier at the people who inform them about animal torture than the people doing the animal torture.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 12, 2015
I'm worried we are going to get a lot of cowardly abstentions with the hunting vote. Please MPs, stand up and be a voice for the voiceless.
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 13, 2015
Finally, Gervais tweeted late Tuesday night:
Trophy Hunting, poaching, dog torture festivals…it seems like a losing battle. But let's fight it any way. pic.twitter.com/6WdOrPQnz4
— Ricky Gervais (@rickygervais) July 29, 2015