The Spanish branch of the World Wildlife Fund has ousted King Juan Carlos as its honorary president - a title he had held since 1968 - because his recent elephant hunting safari was incompatible with the group’s goal of conserving endangered species.
The animal charity said in a statement that “although such hunting is legal and regulated”, it had “received many expressions of distress from its members and society in general”.
It said members voted in a meeting in Madrid today to “get rid of the honorary president”.
News of the king’s elephant hunting trip in Botswana in April upset many Spaniards who considered it an opulent extravagance at a time of economic distress in the country.
The Spanish royal palace declined to comment on the WWF announcement.
AP