The definition of cowardice is a ‘lack of courage to face danger, difficulty, opposition, pain.’

By that criterion, it’s hard to think of a more appropriate way to describe the actions of American trophy-hunter Guy Gorney in a shocking video that’s gone viral, showing him killing a lion.

It’s one of those clips that grows more horrendous and unconscionable the more you watch it.

Guy Gorney poses straddling a dead lion in a photograph on his Facebook page, wearing the same outfit he is videoed killing a lion in Zimbabwe in 2011

Gorney is seen in the Zimbabwe bush, in 2011, with a large rifle in his hands.

He’s wearing combat fatigues, yet what he does is as far removed from ‘combat’ as it’s possible to imagine.

In his sights, less than 50 metres away, is a sleeping male lion.

It’s lying peacefully on its back in the baking sunshine, blissfully oblivious to the hellish end to its life that is about to occur.

A second man, apparently some kind of guide, directs Gorney, in hushed tones, where to aim.

Gorney fires a bullet into the lion’s torso, causing its limbs to horribly retort upwards.

It roars in pain and bewilderment, and tries to get up.

But as it does so, Gorney fires again.

And then a third time.

The last thunderous shot sends the lion crashing dead to the ground.

The guide is breathlessly excited at what he’s witnessed, enthusiastically shaking Gorney’s hand, laughing, and patting him proudly on the back.

The hunter's Facebook page is filled with images of him posing with his kills - ranging from elephants and buffalo to crocodiles, hippo, rhinos, bear and deer

‘That, Mr Gorney,’ he gushes, ‘is a very nice lion! Well done! A very nice lion!’

They then both walk over to the victim and the guide prods the lion’s lifeless body with a gun before exclaiming to Gorney: ‘Very nice lion…beautiful.. that is an exceptional lion!’

Yes, it was.

So why did these two snivelling gutless b*astards have to kill it in such a cold-blooded merciless manner?

I felt physically sick watching the video, and I wasn’t alone.

To see such a magnificent beast lying fast asleep in its natural habitat as it was shot dead has reduced many who’ve seen it to tears of shock and anger.

But Gorney, a 64-year-old from Manhattan, Illinois, doesn’t give a damn what we think.

The scumbag’s Facebook page depicts him proudly posing with a dead lion.

He’s wearing the same clothing he wore in the infamous video clip, and it may be the same lion. That’s not clear, as he reportedly killed two on that trip.

But what IS clear is Gorney’s beaming smirk as he triumphantly straddles this lion’s back, having yanked its head up to face the camera.

That is the kind of ‘trophy’ that Gorney craves.

He travels the world trying to find more great animals to kill precisely so he can pose for this kind of horrifying picture with them – his prey including endangered species like lions, rhinos, elephants, leopards and buffalos.

Gorney is not just proud of what he does, he delights in threatening anyone who dares suggest he should have a taste of his own medicine.

‘I don’t see the logic of making a physical threat against somebody who’s proficient with firearms and wouldn’t hesitate to defend himself or his family,’ he said in 2015 when he was first challenged about his twisted hobby after a storm of protest erupted over his Facebook photo. ‘It’s like, are you insane?’

No, Mr Gorney, we’re not insane - YOU’RE insane.

The hunter also appears to enjoy searching for prey - including moose and bear - closer to home, in North America, as well as the African bush where he bagged a sleeping lion

Only someone with a severe mental illness could possibly enjoy doing what you did to that poor unconscious lion.

The ecstatic thrill it gave you suggests you’re a psychopathic monster devoid of any empathy or compassion.

That’s certainly what any psychiatrist would determine if you had done this to another human being, once you had been sentenced to life imprisonment or even the death penalty.

Ironically, you can still be executed for cowardice in the United States.

Article 99 of the Uniform Code for Military Justice states that any member of the armed forces found guilty of ‘cowardly conduct’ can be ‘punished by death or such other punishment as a court-martial may direct.’

The criteria for such cowardice is:

1) That the accused committed a specific act.

2) That this act was cowardly.

3) That the accused committed this act when he was before the enemy.

4) That the accused did so out of fear.

Unfortunately, this only applies to people in the military, not civilian animal-slaying cowards like Gorney who would otherwise tick every box.

So he is free to continue with his repulsive rampage without fear of anything but social media outrage and widespread public condemnation – neither of which will bother him in the slightest.

‘I like pitting myself against these animals,’ he said in 2015. ‘The ‘why’ is just the – I call it the adventure of it.’

What a callous pr*ck.

The only good thing about this video, found and posted by a UK-based animal rights group, is that it has exposed the nightmarish, vile reality of ‘trophy-hunting’.

Killers like Gorney aren’t killing for ‘conservation’ reasons, as many of them claim. They’re doing it purely for sick kicks and to have another hideous snuff photo for their office wall.

It’s a barbaric abhorrence that this is still legally allowed to happen, but I’ve thought of one way to level up the playing field.

The next time Gorney goes to the African bush, let’s arrange for the lion to be woken up and for his gun removed.

Then we can judge just how brave a ‘hunter’ he really is when faced with a fair fight.

Of course, we all know the answer.

Like all cowards, terrified Gorney would show his real colours and try to run away, screaming like a baby and begging for help.

By targeting a sleeping lion in the way that he did, Gorney revealed himself to be the most pathetic, spineless, depraved excuse for a ‘hunter’ the world has ever seen.

Shame on him, and shame on anyone that still supports this despicable practice.