NSW Shooters and Fishers MP Robert Borsak has accused Greens MP Jeremy Buckingham of hypocrisy for criticising him for eating elephant meat in Africa more than 10 years ago.
Mr Borsak admitted eating an elephant he shot on a legal hunting trip in Zimbabwe as he criticised animals rights groups during a late-night speech to NSW Parliament on Tuesday.
"I choose to hunt and gather my own meat because it is my right to do so, it's a clean, organic and sustainable way to live," Mr Borsak said.
"I choose to cull feral and invasive animals because culling protects our native species and habitats, and consider myself a responsible and ethical hunter and fisher."
When asked by an interjecting Mr Buckingham whether he had eaten the elephants he had killed, Mr Borsak replied: "Yes".
A statement from Mr Borsak's office on Wednesday said the elephant was first given to the local people when it was shot on controlled land in Zimbabwe.
"The meat from Mr Borsak's hunting trip was offered to the traditional owners of the land as a mark of respect, on top of other fees paid," a spokesman for the Shooters and Fishers party said.
Mr Buckingham criticised Mr Borsak for killing the animal.
"It's sick to shoot and kill an elephant for thrills, and it's revolting that Mr Borsak would eat the elephant. He's unfit for office," he said.
Elephant meat is commonly eaten in Africa.
But Mr Borsak criticised the Greens MP for his "hypocrisy" on the issue of eating hunted animals.
"Mr Buckingham was more than happy to eat Mr Borsak's freshly-hunted venison sausages at a NSW parliament house barbecue raising money for Westmead Children's Hospital in June 2013," a Shooters and Fishers party spokesman said.
"Mr Buckingham is rehashing an old story about a hunting trip that took place before Mr Borsak was elected to the NSW Legislative Council," he said.
Share
