A gun-wielding Reform candidate for Calne has defended the shooting of an antelope in South Africa – as a ‘trophy’ photo circulates online.
Violette Simpson is standing to be a councillor for Calne Central, describing herself as “independent” on the ballot paper for the Calne Town Council elections.
However, for the Wiltshire Council elections, she is standing as a Reform UK candidate.
But it’s not her choice of party that’s sparked outrage – it’s a her profile picture.
Violette’s personal Facebook account features a ‘trophy’ photograph of her kneeling with a dead antelope -more specifically an impala- while holding a gun, which was presumably used to kill it.
It’s caused uproar online, with people describing her as “vile” and “a sad specimen of a human being”.
Responding to concerns publicly yesterday (29 April), she said: “My farming upbringing has played a very important part in my view of sustainable practices.
“This was shot legally in [South Africa], every part of it is in my brother’s freezer.
“I fully support that people should know where their produce comes from prior to it hitting shop shelves and I fully support produce being as local as possible for economic and health reasons.”
She added that it was “fully butchered” and no part of the animal was “put to waste”.
The photograph was first posted by the Reform Party UK Exposed X account. It wrote: “Violette Simpson, Reform UK’s candidate in Calne Central, Wiltshire. Her candidate statement doesn’t include her love of this, unsurprisingly.”
On X, Wiltshire Hunt Saboteurs said: “If you’re pro animal welfare and anti hunt and support Reform, give your head a wobble.”
Augusta Urquhart-Nicholls, Chair of Reform UK Chippenham Constituency Branch, said Violette is a “stellar candidate” who brings a “refreshing authenticity to the table”.
She added: “I fully support Violette in her mission to secure a better future for Calne.”
