Idaho State University distances itself from hunter

BOISE – Officials with Idaho State University are distancing themselves from one of their accountants who is being criticized for posting photos of large animals she has killed while legally hunting in South Africa.

“This is not an Idaho State University matter. While the individual in question is an employee, her personal choices are not representative of the University,” university officials told the Associated Press in a prepared statement on Tuesday.

University spokesman Andrew Taylor declined to comment further, but he confirmed that Sabrina Corgatelli had been employed at the university since January.

Corgatelli has posted photos of trophy kills – which include a giraffe, an impala, a wildebeest and a warthog. Her postings have drawn thousands of commenters expressing outrage and threats on her Facebook and Instagram pages.

Corgatelli’s postings showing her legal hunts come as a Minnesota dentist faces criticism and possible legal action after he killed a well-known lion named Cecil in Zimbabwe last month, allegedly during an illegal hunt. “Everything I’ve done here is legal, so how can you fault somebody because of their hobbies?” Corgatelli said in an interview with NBC’s “Today Show” on Monday. “How can an employer chastise you for something you do on your personal time that’s legally done?”

In one image posted online, Corgatelli stands with a dead giraffe she had killed with the animal’s neck encircling her legs.

“Day (hash)2 I got a amazing old Giraffe (sic). Such a amazing animal!! I couldn’t be any happier!! My emotion after getting him was a feeling I will never forget,” she wrote on Facebook on July 25.

In another post, Corgatelli listed Bible passages that encourage eating animals and using weapons to hunt.

Corgatelli did not respond to requests for comment from the Associated Press.