Bob Parsons, CEO of Internet hosting company Go Daddy, recently posted a video of his holiday to Zimbabwe. Disturbingly part of the video shows him shooting and killing an elephant, then posing proudly over its corpse for photos.
The video is sickening but is there truth to Parsons statement defending himself?
Parsons says:
I stand by my decision to help African villagers. I believe elephant management is beneficial. I have the support of the people who really matter in this situation, the families of Zimbabwe — people who need help to survive. I have the support of tribal leaders and the government.
As Time points out, there are in fact issues with elephants in parts of Africa. The World Wildlife Fund (WWF) has been quoted as saying:
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Not only are elephants being squeezed into smaller and smaller areas, but farmers plant crops that elephants like to eat. As a result, elephants frequently raid and destroy crops. They can be very dangerous too.
While many people in the West regard elephants with affection and admiration, the animals often inspire fear and anger in those who share their land.
Elephants eat up to 450kg of food per day. They are messy eaters, uprooting and scattering as much as is eaten. A single elephant makes light work of a hectare of crops in a very short time.
Is killing the solution? Not according to the WWF who offer a number of non-lethal alternatives.
Twitter and Facebook are stacked with complaints and vows to never use Go Daddy again. Are you in the same boat? Is this enough to make you abandon godaddy.com entirely? To what extent should a CEO’s actions outside of work affect their business and customer satisfaction?
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) sent Parsons a letter, obtained by TMZ, presenting him with its “first-ever Scummiest CEO of the Year Award” – and informing him PETA is “taking our domain-name business elsewhere.” Will you?
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