US hunter Rebecca Francis regularly posts pictures of herself smiling alongside the bodies of animals she has killed. This picture of her with a bear she shot in Alaska is her current profile picture on Facebook.
The former co-host of a television show called Eye of the Hunter and mother-of-eight has been receiving “death wishes” by social media users, particularly after her most recent pictures smiling beside a dead giraffe.
Frances likes to take down her prey using a bow and arrow. Her list of bowhunting conquests include a brown bear, black bear, shiras moose, Alaskan moose, dall sheep, stone sheep, deer, elk, zebra, kudu, wildebeest, springbuck, lynx, badger, squirrel and giraffe. She says she has also taken many of the same species with a rifle.
Comedian Ricky Gervais’s Tweet in response to the giraffe photo was retweeted more than 14,000 times. “What must’ve happened to you in your life to make you want to kill a beautiful animal & then lie next to it smiling” Gervais Tweeted.
In response, Hunter Magazine has posted this on Frances’ Facebook page: “We just connected with Rebecca Francis and got a statement on her Giraffe hunt that anti-hunters are attacking her for. Rebecca said, “When I was in Africa five years ago I was of the mindset that I would never shoot a giraffe. I was approached toward the end of my hunt with a unique circumstance. They showed me this beautiful old bull giraffe that was wandering all alone. He had been kicked out of the herd by a younger and stronger bull. He was past his breeding years and very close to death. They asked me if I would preserve this giraffe by providing all the locals with food and other means of survival. He was inevitably going to die soon and he could either be wasted or utilized by the local people. I chose to honor his life by providing others with his uses and I do not regret it for one second. Once he was down there were people waiting to take his meat. They also took his tail to make jewelry, his bones to make other things, and did not waste a single part of him. I am grateful to be a part of something so good” REBECCA FRANCIS IS A HUNTER/CONSERVATIONIST and we stand behind her 100%!!”
What is your view?
