Animal hunter fined after posting sick shots of illegal kills on Facebook
AN ANIMAL hunter who put sick photos of his illegal kills on Facebook, including him kissing a dead deer and drinking vodka with the corpse of a beaver, has defended them as "jokes".
The hunter pictured with the head of an elk
Pavel Gotovchikov's horrific snaps came to light after a disgusted friend alerted an animal rights group.
They sent the images to police who launched a criminal investigation.
But the 54-year-old, who this week was ordered to pay a £50 fine and £2,000 in compensation, sickeningly defended his passion for killing animals.
He also said he thought taking photos of them was "a good joke". As well as deer and beaver, his defenceless victims also included hare, grouse, rabbit and ducks.
Gotovchikov, from Koshika Village in western Siberia, Russia, said: "Yes, I am a hunter. Yes, I am guilty. I did not always follow the rules. I photographed what I shot because hunters love to pose with their trophies.
Pictured here kissing the foot of a deer which is in the boot of his car
"As to the beaver and vodka, well, I thought it was a good joke. This photo was taken a long time ago."
He also hit back at the animal rights group claiming they invaded his right to privacy.
Gotovchikov said: "It was stupid idea of mine to post these photos. But I did not know that these animal rights activists would go on my personal page like anyone else would steal something from a person's pocket.
"These so-called ecologists brazenly went on my personal page and never bothered to contact me if they had a problem, instead they made it their mission to destroy my reputation and my life."
He also shot a swan among his illegal kills
The £2,000 compensation will go to the state
As to the beaver and vodka, well, I thought it was a good joke. This photo was taken a long time ago
The criminal investigation also continues against Gotovchikov because of an image of a dead elk which had its head severed.
The divorced father-of-three who is director of a shooting club rushed to delete his Facebook profile after he released the images had gone viral, but it was too late as they had already been passed to detectives.
Police spokesman Damian Matveyev said: "There were 50 photos, 25 of which clearly indicate illegal hunting.
"The pictures include dead beavers, the cut-off head of a rabbit, and snaps of a rare type of swan."
Prosecution spokesman Sergey Matsakov said that the £2,000 fine was to compensate the state for the shooting of a whooper swan, grey heron, two roe deer, six hares, two beavers, a grouse and three ducks.