Outrage on social media over pictures of Islay wild goat shoot

An American TV presenter has sparked outrage after tweeting "sickening" pictures of herself and a companion posing with a wild goat shot on Islay.

Larysa Switlyk, who describes herself as a "professional huntress" and host of Larysa Unleashed on Destination America & World Fishing Network, posted a picture of herself smiling behind the animal.

The image has been been widely criticised online with more than 2,800 people commenting on the picture.

In the tweet from her @LSwitlyk account the presenter wrote: "Beautiful wild goat here on the Island of Islay in Scotland. Such a fun hunt!! They live on the edge of the cliffs of the island and know how to hide well.

"Made a perfect 200 yard shot and dropped him with the @gunwerks and @nightforce_optics ! ( Good thing too because he could have ran off the cliff into the water). "

The other image shows a man posing behind a white goat, with the caption: "Congrats on Jason on his gold medal goat here in Scotland on Islay. A unique hunt."

Argyll and Bute MSP Mike Russell tweeted he would be raising the issue with environment secretary Roseanna Cunningham.

He tweeted: "As the local member of @ScotParl I am raising this as a matter of urgency with @strathearnrose – if this is actually happening on #Islay, and laid on by some sort of tour company I would want to see it stopped immediately."

Sarah Moyes, campaigner for OneKind which campaigns against animal cruelty, said: "It's utterly shocking to see these images of Larysa Switlyk and other hunters posing for photos with the wild animals they killed on a recent trip to Scotland.

"Yet again, instead of celebrating Scotland's magnificent wildlife, we are seeing these beautiful animals exploited in the name of sport.

"This is not the kind of tourism we should be encouraging in Scotland, let alone allowing to happen in the 21st century."