'It's primeval, not evil': The brutal civil servant who loves killing and skinning elephants in the wild

By LUCY BUCKLAND



Barbaric: David Barrett with an elephant he shot dead in 2009 in Zimbabwe



Sitting proud on top of his latest kill, this hunter looks like a very satisfied marksman.

Few could imagine this hunter is really a retired civil servant living in Hampshire who has killed and skinned more than 300 animals in Africa.

But David Barrett, 55, claims he 'feels no guilt.' and even has a trophy room of stuffed animals along with a cabinet of weapons.



Hobby: David Barrett, with an elephant that he shot in 2008, has said his critics are hypocrites



Mr Barrett denied he ever shot anything which was inedible.

He said: 'I enjoy hunting, its primeval. When I look through the scope I don't see a living thing, its a target.'

Pictures from holidays over the last 14 years show Mr Barrett with shot buffaloes, elephants and hippos.

In some graphic pictures elephants are shown skinned.



Hunter: David Barrett stands in his trophy room with the heads of the hunted surrounding him



Horrifying: Animal charities have condemned David Barrett's bloody hobby



Animal activists have criticised Mr Barrett for his hobby which they described as 'vile' and bloodthirsty' but he has branded them 'hypocrites'.

He told The Sun: 'I have no feelings of guilt for killing. Most people in the West just pay someone else to do the dirsty work for them.'

But Liane Eltan, of PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) told the paper: 'A psychologist would have a field day with his lame rationalisation for his admitted enjoyment in his vile hobby. There's nothing admirable in hunting.'



source: dailymail