NEW YORK — An American television host prompted outrage Friday after boasting online that she had killed a lion in South Africa.
Melissa Bachman, an avid hunter who produces programs on the American outdoors, posted a photograph on Facebook and Twitter of her holding a rifle and smiling beside the corpse of a large male lion.
“Incredible day in South Africa,” the self-styled “hardcore huntress” said of her pursuits at the Maroi Conservancy, adding: “Stalked inside 60-yards on this beautiful male lion – what a hunt!”
A furious online reaction led Ms Bachman to deactivate her Facebook and Twitter pages within hours. It also prompted an online petition asking the South African government to bar her from returning.
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“She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation this country prides itself on,” said Elan Burman of Cape Town, the author of the petition, which quickly gathered 3,000 signatures.
“You, lady, are what is wrong with the world,” said Richard Robinson of Maryland, who was among the signatories. “Take with no consequences. Shoot, kill, consume, destroy.
“You didn’t kill a lion, you stood behind a machine and pulled a little trigger, you pathetic, sad excuse of a human.”
Facebook/Melissa BachmanMelissa Bachman with a dead zebra she hunted in South Africa.
Lourens Mostert, the game farm manager at the conservancy where the hunt took place, told The Times: “If it isn’t right to hunt these lions, why does our government legally give us permission?
“This is not the only lion that has been hunted in South Africa this year.”
While the African lion is rated “vulnerable” on the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List, it is not officially an endangered species and hunting them is legal in a number of countries, including South Africa. “The main threats to lions are indiscriminate killing,” said the organisation.
The photograph was in keeping with Ms. Bachman’s past activities. Her official website displays pictures of her posing beside dead alligators, turkeys and bears among other quarry.
‘She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation this country prides itself on’
She was axed as a contestant on the National Geographic program Ultimate Survival Alaska last year after 13,000 people signed a petition protesting against the inclusion of a “heartless trophy hunter”. Ms Bachman could not be contacted for comment yesterday.
The most recent study, led by a scientist from Duke University in the U.S., shows that as few as 32,000 lions are left in the wild, which makes hunting a controversial issue, particularly in Africa. Supporters say that it brings in money to local communities and can help to reduce illegal poaching, but critics say it is a cruel practice that brings in little revenue to local people. Last year Botswana banned all commercial hunting of wild animals, and Zambia outlawed all hunting of lions and leopards from January.
“Tourists come to Zambia to see the lion, and if we lose the lion we will be killing our tourism industry,” Sylvia Masebo, the tourism and arts minister, said.
The Daily Telegraph