Australian businessman Nick Haridemos' dead baboon photo sparks outrage

  • 02/03/2018

Images of an Australian businessman posing with animals he killed during an African hunting trip have sparked outrage online.

Nick Haridemos was shown in the photos sitting in a car next to a dead baboon wearing a hat and sunglasses and standing over a dead elephant holding one of its tusks.

Released by Twitter user nickha1, the photos are believed to have been taken between 2010 and 2016, The Canberra Times reports.

Mr Haridemos was forced to resign his post as vice president of Canberra's Hellenic Club on Wednesday due to public outrage.

"Appalled! Nick Haridemos must be removed from the Board. Shame," one person wrote on social media the day before his resignation.

"He is an absolute disgrace and I will boycott the Hellenic Club whilst he is still on the board," another said.

Speaking through his lawyer Mr Haridemos said he did nothing illegal during the hunts and did not threaten any endangered species.

"Mr Haridemos has, on occasions, engaged in the activity of 'conservation hunting'," he told The Canberra Times.

"This is a regulated activity, which is undertaken in accordance with licences and quotas issued by the relevant country, and is conducted in a manner that does not pose a threat to any endangered species."

The Hellenic Club separated itself from the controversy, saying it supported animal welfare and conservation groups.

"The Club distances itself from the photos and the activities that they portray. The Club empathises with anyone who has mistakenly associated the Club with the photos," president Andrew Satsias said.

"The photos published are in no way connected to or representative of the values of the Hellenic Club or its members."

Newshub.