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Melissa Bachman Lion Controversy
Big-game hunter and U.S. television personality Melissa Bachman has caused controversy after posting a photo earlier this month of her posing while holding a rifle over a lion she legally harvested.
According to Huffington Post, the Minnesota-based TV host shot and killed an African lion during her trip to South Africa and posted a picture via Twitter.
“An incredible day hunting in South Africa! Stalked inside 60-yards on this beautiful male lion…what a hunt!” the tweet said.
Melissa was hunting with the proper permits etc, and had committed no crime, but it did not stop angry animal lovers and Elan Burman who lives in Cape Town from starting a change.org petition calling for the South African government to ban Bachman from the country, ABC News reports.
“She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation, this country prides itself on,” the petition reads. “As tax payers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources.”
The petition has gained over 300,000 supporters thus far and counting.
I think this is ridiculous we need to start our own poll as hunter as a community. The lack of education on the principles around hunting and conservation and how they go hand in hand is simply appalling…. That a woman who is doing everything right and by the book should be forced to receive death threats and hate mail because these ignorant people don’t follow the same lifestyle as her…. it’s just wrong on so many levels… Educate yourself for god sakes!
More About The Controversy
The Lion Hunt took place on the Maroi Conservancy, who defended the hunt on its Facebook page citing their motto is “conservation through sustainable hunting.”
The post reads: “We are not apologizing for facilitating the hunt. As for all the negative commentary towards us, please consider how much you have contributed to conservation in the past 5 years. If you are not a game farmer and struggling with dying starving animals, poaching and no fences in place to protect your animals and crop, please refrain from making negative derogatory comments. It is so easy to judge if you are staying in cities and towns….”
The meat from the animals that its members hunt, Maroi adds, is brought to a local community. The hunting funds are used to help fix a border fence, prevent poaching and manage “sustainable conservancy.”
We run into the same issue right here in our own country, I myself got several hundred messages after harvesting a mountain lion this year.. I Eurge any anti-hunting supporter and or non-hunter to educate yourself don’t be ignorant. Hunting has been a part of mankind for millions years… Steven Rinella says it very well when approached by a Vegan
I have had this debate with many people before who just don’t understand or do not wish to understand, bottom line is there would be no wildlife to enjoy if it wasn’t for the hunting community……
Just some facts:
** $746 million — Annual amount of money spent by hunters in the United States on licenses and public land access fees alone. Sportsmen’s licensing revenues account for more than half of all funding for state natural resource agencies
** $300 million — Additional monies contributed to wildlife conservation every year by the more than 10,000 private hunting-advocate organizations, like the National Wild Turkey Federation, Ducks Unlimited, and the Rocky Mountain Elk Foundation
** $4.2 billion — Amount of money sportsmen have contributed to conservation through a 10% federal excise taxes on firearms, ammunition, and gear since the 1937 Pittman-Robertson Act established the tax. Millions of acres of public-use land has been purchased, preserved, and maintained with this money.
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