Ricky Gervais says he wants to 'f***ing batter' poachers after seeing photos of a dehorned rhino.
The comedian, who is an outspoken advocate for animal rights, took to Twitter today (1 November) to share an article about a mutilated Southern White Rhino.
The horrific photos of the injured rhino were taken in North West Province in South Africa five years ago and show the animal weeping.
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Sharing the story, Ricky wrote: "Devastating. I go from wanting to cry, to wanting to f***ing batter the c***s who did this."
Since posting the tweet, it has been liked more than 18,000 times, with thousands of people piling into the comments to offer their support.
One user said: "That's exactly the way I feel Ricky when I see this or any cruelty to animals... sometimes I really don't know how I've managed not to SCREAM at some of the people I've had to deal with."
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The harrowing images were captured by British director and photographer Simon Needham, who witnessed the rhino being saved by wildlife charity Saving the Survivors.
Commenting on Ricky's post, the organisation said: "Thank you for your passion @rickygervais and for sharing this story of our work. Sadly Seha is just one of the many Rhinos we have treated, however, many like Seha are saved from their injuries by our Vets. Thank you for your support!"
They also revealed that Seha has since had a son and is doing very well.
Talking about the photographs, Simon, who has worked with a number of similar charities in the past, said: "When I heard about @savingthesurvivors within the community and after hearing what they do I offered my time to photograph the rhino to help promote their need to raise money."
"Saving the Survivors are a team of wildlife vets whose mission is to save every animal who has fallen victim to poaching or traumatic incidents.
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"Poachers butchered the rhino's horns and removed parts of the bone in his skull as well," Simon says.
"The owners of the game reserve left him for dead for two weeks as he wasn't worth a bullet to put him down, not without his horns.
"The police noticed him and called Saving the Survivors to help him."
South Africa, which is home to the majority of the world's rhino population, has been hit by a poaching epidemic over recent years, with more than 1,000 rhinos killed each year between 2013 and 2017.
Last year, there were 394 incidents recorded in the country and on average, a rhino is killed for its horn every 22 hours.
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The latest numbers show that rhino populations, particularly in key strongholds such as Kruger National Park, in South Africa, have fallen dramatically.
Rhino populations have had no time to recover from ruthless poaching that's taken place throughout the last decade
"It's devastating to see animals abused this way by humans for profit," said Simon.
"I just wanted to capture some clear, honest and factual shots of the tragedy going on in Africa in regards to poaching
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"It's sad people can't believe we still do this to animals in this day and age. Until humans stop wanting rhino horn this will go on and on.
"The world's wildlife population is under heavy attack from the human population and the plight of these intelligent, emotional, sentient beings needs to be highlighted and the wildlife protected."
Featured Image Credit: AlamyTopics: south africa, Animal Rights, comedian, rhino, Ricky Gervais