More than 300,000 people have signed a petition urging the South African government to deny entry to celebrity animal hunter Melissa Bachman after a photo of her posing with a slain lion sparked outrage among animal rights advocates.
In the photo, Bachman sits smiling behind what she describes as a “beautiful male lion” while she holds a rifle.
The photo prompted Cape Town resident Elan Burman to launch a petition on change.org.
“Melissa Bachman has made a career out of hunting wildlife, for pure sport,” writes Burman in a letter addressed to Director General Mkuseli Apleni and other South African officials.
“She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation, this country prides itself on.”
Thousands of people from around the world have shown their support since the petition was launched on November 14.
“This is senseless slaughter of animals who already endangered & just for human entertainment. It is shameful that you allow someone to kill these animals in such a cowardly manner,” wrote Linda Burns from the NSW town of Worrigee.
“Cruelty and violence against animals should not be accepted,” said Elene Tsiklauri from the UK.
“People should not be killing animals for sport. Disgusting,” said Debbie Sykes from Japan.
According to ABC News in the US, the hunt of the lion was facilitated by Maroi Conservancy, based in Limpopo province in South Africa.
The game hunting company responded via their Facebook page after they received “hate mail” about Bachman.
“We do ethical hunting and all meat from animals hunted is distributed to the local community.
“On her wish list was a lion. There are no lions on Maroi as they do not occur here naturallly. We contacted an outfitter in the North West Province and we faciltated the hunt for Melissa.”
Bachman describes herself as an “avid hunter”, television producer and writer. Her Twitter and Facebook page features a variety of animals she has killed, including a smiling photo of her sitting beside five dead alligators, her “first Nyala” in South Africa, a photo with her mother who had shot an antelope, and an Alaska brown bear which she describes as “a beautiful and extremely blonde one to top it off!!”
While there are many posts of support on her public Facebook page, there are also thousands of comments condemning her.
Another page, “Stop Melissa Bachman”, has attracted over 233,000 likes.
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It is not the first time Bachman has been targeted online for her activities. There are at least five other petitions on change.org, including one to remove her videos from YouTube.
In 2012, National Geographic dropped Bachman from Ultimate Survivor Alaska after more than 13,000 signed an online petition demanding her removal.
The latest barrage of criticism has also caught the attention of celebrities, including Ricky Gervais who posted on his Twitter – “There’s a big difference between the natural need for a species to kill and eat prey & just shooting an animal simply as a ghastly trophy.”
– Sydney Morning Herald
