Social media frenzy after tween game hunter shares pics of trophy kills
WARNING, GRAPHIC CONTENT: A 12-year-old game hunter from Utah in the US has copped backlash for pictures posted on social media of her posing with dead wild animals she killed.
Aryanna Gourdin's Twitter and Facebook accounts are full of pics of the tween posing with animals she hunted and killed on a recent trip to South Africa with her father Eli Gourdin.
Using a bright pink bow and arrows to hunt and kill her prey, the youngster can be seen triumphantly towering over an impala, giraffe, and zebra from her trophy hunt earlier this month, which she says was "one of the best hunts I've ever been on".
"I'll see you next year Africa," she tweeted.
She documented the hunt on the Braids and Bows Facebook page, which has not surprisingly created a social media frenzy from users calling her a "killer," a "murderer" and a "sickening little witch".
"Posting pictures showing how proud you are of killing those animals is disgusting," one angered Facebook user commented to the page.
"It makes me really angry and sad that human beings do this without feeling any shame or guilt."
Another wrote: "Despicable. Absolutely disgusting," one of them wrote. "You don't deserve any respect. Taking for granted the greatest gift of mother nature and the universe."
More backlash came from another commenter, who shamed the girl's thrill of the hunt.
"When you get a THRILL and say killing an animal was you 'DREAMS' I think you need to re-examine what you are learning and being taught and maybe go find yourself. Killing something should NEVER feel that good little girl," the comment read.
Others shamed her father for taking the young girl on such a trip.
"A normal dad would take his daughter to africa for a safari and not for hunting animal, for fun!!!!!!"
The wild animal kill debate gained international debate last year when American dentist Walter Palmer shot and posed with the dead caracas of beloved African animal Cecil the lion.
The youngster defended her choice of hobby on Good Morning America, and told the national television show she hoped more women would take up the violent pastime.
She said the meat from the animals she killed in South Africa was donated to a local village to feed nearly 1000 orphans.
She many of those shot were causing problems for other animals so removing them would help improve the area's conservation.
"We're proud to be hunters and we'll never apologise for being hunters," her father, Eli Gourdin, told the program.
Despite the controversy, Aryanna is determined to keep hunting.
"I would never back down from hunting, because I'm a hunter and no matter the people say to me I'm never going to stop.
"I want other women and youth to get into the hunting experiences. It's just awesome," she added.
News break – August 19
