To share this pic of Rebecca Francis, extreme hunter with you (warning: a bit gruesome)

[TheoriginalLEM]

But no more than she deserves - there is no excuse for this "extreme sport" . Really just wanting to name and shame the disgusting woman and found this picture less distasteful than her trophy pic.

[shitebag]

What is the obsession with these photos at the moment, they're all over my newsfeed on Facebook.

I agree that its all a bit pointless and distasteful but I don't get the sudden shock horror act that people are putting on

[Bearfrills]

YABU.

Lots of people do things I don't agree with, doesn't mean it's right to post pictures of them on the Internet that have been photos hopped to make them appear dead.

[TheoriginalLEM]

Well its the first one that i have seen like this - I think pointless and distasteful are pretty weak adjectives when these people are posing with the animals they have murdered.

[shitebag]

I guess its just not something I can get worked up about.

[Whiskwarrior]

No shock horror act here shitebag. I was actually disgusted and quite angry at those photos on my newsfeed.

Thanks for sharing Lem - although I don't know what will come of everyone sharing. I'd like to think some good will come of it but I can't see what

[Bearfrills]

I don't agree with hunting, I don't condone hunting, I don't go hunting... but it's not murder. In my opinion, it is wrong but it's not murder.

[MarniRose]

A lot of these pics on FB are mocked up. Not all, but lots of them.

I cannot get worked up about it. It's just usual FB shite isn't it?

[corgiology]

If the animal is killed for meat (and skin is used), no problem. Far better than factory farming.

Otherwise no, what a waste.

However pics like that don't achieve anything really. The artist could be more proactive if they feel so strongly about this.

[LyingWitchInTheWardrobe2726]

I smiled Lem. Maybe it will be a case of life imitating art? I certainly didn't smile at the earlier pictures this week, grotesque.

[maninawomansworld]

This is such sensationalist crap it makes my blood boil!

I hunt and shoot here in the UK, and while I personally would not want to kill a giraffe / lion / buffalo I will defend this womans right to do so as long as the manner in which it is done is humane and is done with conservation in mind.

The people who are frothing at the mouth over this (and similar) pictures know absolutely NOTHING about hunting, conservation or the circumstances behind each of these photos.

The giraffe in the photo of Rebecca which has sparked this thread was actually an elderly bull (male) well past his prime. He had been kicked out of the herd by the new 'alpha male' a younger, stronger bull and now faced a year or so of slow (probably painful) decline and eventual death. Away from the safety of the herd an elderly male like this would have been chased away from the good grazing and would not have been able to procure enough food, he would have grown weak and eventually have either starved or fallen prey to a predator.

Rebecca Francis paid a lot of money for her 'big game' hunt, a large proportion of which will have gone back into conservation in the local area where the giraffe was hunted.
The giraffe was selected as an appropriate 'cull' animal and killing it as she did most certainly only accelerated it's death by a year or so, saving it from a great deal of suffering in the meantime. Had the animal died naturally the carcass would have rotted away or been taken by scavengers but as it was culled, the meat was able to be shared out among local villagers who are among the poorest people in the world! The fur and bones were used to make textiles / tools etc and nothing was wasted.

THINK BEFORE YOU CRITICISE !

[MarniRose]

Well said

Some idiots believe everything they see on FB

[DextersMistress]

Oh yes, I'm sure hunters have the animals best interest at heart. What a load of bollocks.

[lucycant]

I don't agree with her actions. But she has had death threats as a result of the sharing of these photos on the net, and I think that is wrong.

[LunacyPays]

What a load of sensationalist rubbish. I hate these kind of pictures - I can make my own mind up without having this shite shoved down my throat.

[blueemerald]

Even if you take your point of view, maninawomansworld, there is still something incredibly disrespectful and crass about posting a photograph of yourself grinning like a loon next to a carcass.
Not that I think her life should be threatened either.

[kali110]

My heart bleeds.
I actually believe the poster about the culling it's the look of satisifaction on the womans face.
I doubt she was thinking "must put this poor old animal out of it's misery"
She just wanted to shoot something. Then pose with her trophy.
I don't feel sorry for her.

[enderwoman]

I also can't help but wonder why it's considered a sport and whether a bow and arrow is what you'd use to kill an animal humanely.

[zippey]

Great pic. To be honest I think all hunters who kill for sport should be shot, or maimed at the very least. You live by the sword and you die by the sword surely?

[enderwoman]

Zippey- I've seen an Internet memes where a big cat is pointing a gun into the distance and the caption says something like "Now it's fair!"

I understand that sometimes it is kinder to put a animal down (even though humans can't be when they would like to die)

[MNpostingbot]

People who want humans killed and maimed over hunting are just about as hypocritical as it gets.

I'm not saying humans are worth more than animals, but surely people see the contradiction in saying "these people should be killed for killing animals" makes you just as bad as the hunter. Possibly worse

[LongDistanceLove]

It's trophy hunting in the guise of doing good. There's no need for a grinning picture taken next to the animal. Much the same as the other photos of her and her other kills.

[SylvaniansAtEase]

Culling elderly animals - kinder and more efficient - using the materials - all yes, absolutely fine.

That isn't what people are so disgusted at.

What is so ugly and disgusting is seeing someone take such pleasure in killing.

To enjoy causing death, to revel in killing. There is nothing there but crass, low, base ugliness. Quite rightly it's condemned: whether it be human on human violence and murder or cruelty and violence against animals. And that's not to make the two equivalent, before I get flamed - just to say that THAT is the basic source of revulsion here - a feeling completely from the gut. I could happily cull an animal to put it out of misery: I feel nothing but disgust for those who would ENJOY such an undertaking. Get a thrill out of seeing death and an ending.

Anyone who enjoys killing another living thing has something essential missing from their makeup, something of the ability to empathise with other beings and to value life and all its wonders which makes us human. Killing for pleasure is foul and is undertaken by foul people.

[OhGiveItARest]

If the primary reason that these people kill things is for conservation, they would be killing RELUCTANTLY but in the grim knowledge that it was necessary.

A vet might euthanise an animal because it is the humane thing to do but you don't see pictures of them posing next to a dead dog, proudly brandishing a syringe and grinning.

These people like killing things. The conservation aspect - even if/when true - is just a handy cover.

[maninawomansworld]

Personally I am not a fan of the photos so I don't look at them. It is more of an American 'thing' however, hunters here in the UK seem to be much more respectful of their quarry on the whole (as they should be).

There is nothing wrong in killing another living thing so long as it is not purely for the sake of it, and there is absolutely nothing wrong in taking pleasure from it either.

I hunt and shoot and I enjoy it. My satisfaction does not come from the act of extinguishing the life of another creature. It comes from the day out in the countryside, the skill required to get close enough and the nerves and self control needed to steady yourself when the critical moment comes to line up the crosshare and pull the trigger as your heart is beating in your chest like a bass drum.
After making a clean kill you then go through the process of recovering the animal and preparing it for the oven. This is not for the faint hearted and I firmly believe that ANYONE who eats meat should be made to do this just once in their lives!
I guarantee you that hunters have more respect for their food that you lot who have only ever eaten supermarket meats all pre packaged in their nice clean polystyrene trays with no blood or mess to upset you.
You could almost ignore the fact you're eating meat!

[Painfulbits]

I am very anti-hunting. I am a vegan and a frequent writer for animal rights issues.

However, something else concerns me about these 'hunting' photos. Why is it only ever female hunters who are hung out to dry? Why not male hunters too?

Don't get me wrong, I think both are as bad as each other! But it is something to think about...