London, Dec 11 : English food writer Nigella Lawson has enraged anti-fur campaigners on December 10 after she commented that she would kill a bear and wear its skin as a “trophy”.

Lawson spoke on The One Show on BBC1, where she stated that buying a fur coat would be “an act of weakness”, though she would not mind wearing one if she killed the bear herself.

The animal rights groups have branded the TV chef’s comment as “sick” and said she was effectively endorsing the hunting of endangered animals.

Some warned that the Domestic Goddess would now be seen as “a legitimate target” for activists who have already splashed red paint on fur-wearing celebrities.

Lawson’s admission, aired on December 9 evening, came during a discussion on whether fur should be banned in fashion.

“I feel going into a shop and buying a fur coat would be an act of weakness, but if I could go out into the woods and kill a bear myself, I would then wear it proudly as a trophy,” the Daily Express quoted Lawson, who made a stabbing motion with her hands, as saying.

A spokesman for Respect for Animals stated that the chef needs to see first hand how the animals are killed.

“If she could see the way in which bears and other animals are killed in the wild she wouldn’t have been so flippant and glib. In my view, Nigella has blood on her hands,” the spokesman said.

But Lawson’s publicist, Mark Hutchinson, defended her comment as being meant in self-defence.

“She was saying that if in a situation where it was her or the bear, she would kill the bear – but not if she was unprovoked,” Hutchinson said.

Adding that the closest thing the chef owned to a fur coat was a sheepskin-lined jacket. (ANI)