Go Daddy CEO elephant hunting video sparks controversy
Author: Sonious
Time blogger Bryan Walsh gives his account and opinions on a recent video released by Go Daddy CEO Bob Parsons. The video was taken from Zimbabwe, where Parsons had shot and killed an elephant while handing out GoDaddy swag to local residents.
While Bob Parsons defended his actions, stating that the elephant was a menace to the locals and ruined crops, animal rights groups have called the actions deplorable. PETA responded to the action by handing out their first ever “Scummiest CEO of the year” award, claiming that there are “many humane ways to keep elephants away from crops.”
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I’m afraid Bob Parsons may have cost his company a lot of business.
March 31, 2011 at 11:28 pm
FYI, the video is hosted by Video.me, a conglomerate of GoDaddy enterprises, and the biggest irony to me (which is why on Flayrah I did not include the video) is how people are saying they’ll stop using GoDaddy services when the video itself uses their services.
April 1, 2011 at 12:55 am
Ok, these people were hired by the locals to stop a troublesome animal from destroying their crops and cutting off their food supplies. It was a few animals vs a village of people.
I vote for the people. Animals die for lots of reasons, this one was just by human hands. If they had not killed the animals for fear of retribution from PETA or losing business, we would be talking about how he had allowed people to starve to death to keep a few creatures alive.
I am also curious to know what ‘humane’ way could have been done that was as cost efficient to the farmer as this and would have actually worked?
April 1, 2011 at 9:14 am
If it were that it were fine, but it should have been treated as the tragedy it is, the animal of human and animal of elephant battling over survival and territory.
AC-DC music when the villagers are taking the elephant apart speaks that the CEO here did not respect the animal he killed and saw it as a necessary evil, it sings to me enjoyment, being “the man” and I hope to hell and high water AC-DC approved of their property being used in such a way and that they won’t mind it, or PETA will probably be the least of his concerns.
April 1, 2011 at 9:02 pm
I actually think that the villagers were very happy to have the elephant meat and to not have their crops destroyed. I call loosing a few animals a necessary evil and he is ‘the man’ for going out of his way to help the villagers. I reiterate. If he DIDN’T do this, then we would be saying how heartless he is to ignore the people’s pleads for help.
April 2, 2011 at 4:31 am
I’m not debating you on that, I’m saying it isn’t what one does, it is the way they present it.
He killed the elephant for he felt it necessary to protect the crops, and he’s happy to have helped yes, but really? “Hells Bells”? It doesn’t fit the mood lyrically, or in its melody. We put down humans as well in some places, would it be appropriate for the person who injected or pulled the lever to the electric chair to suddenly rock out to the AC-DC while doing it? Apparently he didn’t either, because I just watched the video again and the song was removed, good on him for that (unless he was told legally to do so and not by his own judgment), but still what I originally saw can’t be unseen, I don’t know why he didn’t think it was inappropriate for that to be put that song in there to begin with.
April 3, 2011 at 2:57 am
I think when all is said and done. Posting the video online was probably the dumbest thing he did. Otherwise the rest of it, would have been water under the bridge and easily explained away with his comment about helping the local villagers.
April 1, 2011 at 8:59 pm
Which just goes to show you, just because you can run a company doesn’t mean you’d make a good cinematographer.
April 1, 2011 at 10:59 pm
Wow the people ate the elephant at least it went to some good cause but god, that thing sat out all night and all those people walking all over it and ick and all those people swarming around the carcass reminds me of voltures….
April 3, 2011 at 8:21 pm
Cleaning up the mess left behind and having a meal to survive… Yeah seriously just like vultures.
April 4, 2011 at 10:24 pm
well there goes go daddy.com! site fucking sucked anyway.
April 4, 2011 at 3:48 am
Eh I don’t like Go Daddy’s methods anyways. I don’t really have much I can say with full confidence. You can’t have crops getting destroyed by elephants, hyenas breaking into camps and eating babies, and lions attacking workers. However most people will agree like me that we don’t want to see these animals wiped off the face of the Earth. Something needs to be done, something needs to change, not sure what or how.
April 4, 2011 at 10:28 pm
This is disgusting. I actually just found out about a company called HostPapa where using the coupon code “elephant” they’ll donate $5 dollars to http://www.savetheelephants.org/ . They’ll also give you 3 months free! So I’m switching over all my sites hosted through GoDaddy to them immediately.
April 14, 2011 at 9:30 pm