Wildlife trophy hunter, Riaan Naude gunned down in ‘execution-style’ murder in South Africa

A trophy hunter who killed elephants and lions has been killed in South Africa. 

Riaan Naude, 55, owner of Pro Hunt Africa, who always uploads images of himself to social media posing with dead animals, including lions, elephants and giraffes that he had killed, was found dead next to his truck in Marken Road, Limpopo.

Two hunting rifles were among items found in his car in an area which includes part of the Kruger National Park wildlife reserve, local outlet Maroela Media reported.

Officers found a pair of hunting rifles, clothes, water, whiskey and pyjamas in Naude’s vehicle, Maroela Media reported.

Naude ran the Pro Hunt Africa firm, which describes itself on its website as a “hunting and Eco Safari outfit” in northernmost South Africa.

The Heritage Protection Group, a not-for-profit group against rhino poaching, claims Naude stopped his vehicle on the side of the road after it overheated around 5km from Mokopane.

It said a man “shot him in cold blood at close range” after a second vehicle pulled up next to him. Two suspects were said to have exited the car and stole a gun from Naude before getting back into their vehicle and driving in the direction of Marken.

Announcing the news of his death to its followers, the XposeTrophyKilling Twitter account posted a picture of Naude holding up a deceased lion and tweeted that he “was shot execution style”.