GoDaddy CEO's elephant hunt criticized

Bob Parsons says he killed the elephant to help farmers whose crops are often destroyed by elephants. STORY HIGHLIGHTSGoDaddy founder Bob Parsons posted a video showing him shooting an elephantParsons said the kill, in Zimbabwe, gave local farmers meat and protected their cropsAnimal rights group PETA has launched an online boycott of GoDaddyPETA says Parsons should help farmers other ways, "not act like a little boy with a gun"RELATED TOPICSBob ParsonsGoDaddy.comPETA (CNN) -- The CEO of GoDaddy.com is under fire for an online video that shows him shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe.

Bob Parsons, founder of the Scottsdale, Arizona-based web-hosting service, posted the graphic video on his Twitter account on March 14. The footage, shot March 8, shows him hunting an elephant on a farm and posing with a shotgun beside its corpse.

Then, it shows locals crowding around the dead animal and cutting off pieces of its meat.

Now, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) has initiated an online boycott of GoDaddy.com and its services until Parsons "stops shooting animals," according to the organization's website.

Parsons' own website has also been inundated by negative comments protesting the video.

"A lot of the people who are upset about this are animal lovers," Parsons told CNN. "Their heart is in the right place, but they just don't understand the situation."

Parsons said he killed the animal for the good of local farmers whose crops are often destroyed by elephants. The video shows him walking through a field of flattened sorghum plants, which he said had been crushed by roaming elephants.

"They are subsistence farmers. If their crop isn't harvested, they don't eat," Parsons said.

He called the fact that the elephant meat provided food for the people "a bonus."

"They literally have nothing and they're on the brink of starvation," he said.

Parsons has traveled to Zimbabwe for several years, but only last year began hunting elephants at the request of local farmers, he said. Overall, he said he has killed five elephants.

PETA rejected Parsons' explanation, with PETA President Ingrid Newkirk saying in a statement, "If Bob Parsons really wanted to help African villagers, he would use his money to promote one of the many effective, non-lethal methods available to protect crops -- not act like a little boy with a gun."

In a press release, PETA said it is pulling its business from GoDaddy.com, and the group labeled Parsons "Scummiest CEO of the Year."

Meanwhile, asked if the PETA boycott had affected GoDaddy.com's business, company spokeswoman Elizabeth Driscoll said, "There has been no significant change in business."

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