Filtered photograph of a former president of Panama with a dead leopard

(CNN Spanish) – The former president of Panama, Ernesto Pérez Balladares, was photographed next to a dead leopard and with a gun in his hand during an apparent hunt.

Pérez Balladares, who ruled the country between 1994 and 1999 with the Democratic Revolutionary Party, the same political organization as current president Laurentino Cortizo, admitted that the photograph belonged to him after it circulated on social media.

“Some clueless uploaded a photo of my hunts to social networks. I do not owe an explanation to anyone of my private activities. To those who have expressed so much hatred: I hope they do not accept fishing or eat animal products. Eat hatred, envy and Grudge! “the former president wrote on Twitter.

“I do not know who uploaded the photo; it is something private about which I have nothing to comment! Hopefully one day reality will be investigated: If there were no organized hunting and consequently, protected areas, human pressure in Africa would have killed the animals savages, “the ex-president replied to CNN via text message, when asked for details of the photograph, his reaction to it being leaked and the criticism received on social networks.

CNN also asked the Panamanian Ministry of the Environment for a reaction, but did not comment.

The date of the image, where it was captured and how the controversial photo could have been filtered is unknown.

Two environmental organizations criticized Pérez Balladares. One of them, the Mastozoological Society of Panama, dedicated to the study of wild mammals, asked him to reconsider. Its president, Rafael Samudio, told CNN that you have to be aware that there are highly threatened species on all continents, and that although sport hunting is a permitted activity in some countries, “you are eliminating a living being that is part of the ecosystem “.

“Almost all felines are in danger of extinction in the world. They are not large populations as seen in documentaries, for which, in the XXI century, it would be expected that those who represent us are an example for society and leaders who think about what type of hunting activity is done and of what species, “he added.

Faced with what Pérez Balladares said, the environmentalist recalled that even in fishing conditions are being dictated to protect the ecosystem. “On this issue you cannot think ‘it’s my life and I do what I want’, because that brings environmental consequences and even epidemics, because, for example, cats eat rodents, carriers of many viruses,” he explained.

Ricardo Moreno, from the Yaguara Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to the conservation of the jaguar and its habitat, pointed out to CNN that in Panama all felines, such as the jaguar and other species, are protected by national laws and their hunt is prohibited in the country.

“Unfortunately some countries allow leopards to be hunted, even if they are in danger. I think these countries should learn from countries like Panama where the laws protect them,” he added.