Should Melissa Bachman be banned from South Africa for shooting a lion?

A hunting show star who used social media to share a photo of herself posing with a lion she killed in South Africa has sparked outrage among animal rights advocates who want to have her banned from returning to the country.

Melissa Bachman, host of Winchester Deadly Passion, killed the male lion during a recent guided hunt facilitated by the Maroi Conservancy in Limpopo province. (The hunt was legal.)

The photo was shared more than 1,000 times on Bachman's Facebook page, and in the past week it has circulated in the mainstream, generating harsh criticism.

According to ABC News, Cape Town resident Elan Burman began a Change.org petition requesting that the South African government prevent her from visiting.

The petition, which has gained nearly 15,000 signatures, reads: "She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation this country prides itself on. As tax payers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources."

Big-game hunting in South Africa is big business, and part of the revenue generated through hunting helps fund conservation projects. Bachman, whose Facebook page includes photos of many other types of trophy animals, is no stranger to controversy. But the hunting celebrity enjoys lots of support.

The "Show Support for Melissa Bachman and resist anti-hunting abuse" Facebook page has nearly 8,000 followers.

The Maroi Conservancy also has been barraged with criticism. On Saturday it stated its motto, "Conservation through sustainable hunting" on its Facebook page, accompanied by a lengthy defense of its hunting program.

Part of it reads: "We do ethical hunting and all meat from animals hunted is distributed to the local community. Funds generated from hunting goes towards fixing the border fence that was washed away in the 2013 floods, combating poaching, which is excessive in this area due to close proximity to Zimbabwe, and running a sustainable conservancy."

Another segment reads: "We are not apologizing for facilitating the [Bachman] hunt. 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."

Bachman did not kill the lion on Maroi Conservancy land. Maroi merely arranged the hunt, in Zeerust in Northwest Province, through another outfitter.

–Pete Thomas, via GrindTv

–Photos showing Melissa Bachman posing with trophy lion are from her Facebook page

Comments

[mulu]

if you'd like to contact her - here some contact informations http://pastebin.com/h7F8Mt3s

[vance]

all i can say to all you people that dislike melissa for shooting a lion is to go straight to hell. for one thing hunting is the best thing in life. ive been doin it for over 20 years and there ant nothing better and most people will agree with me. you people that are bitchin about her killin a lion are mostly city slickers that dont know a dam thing about the out doors or even life outside the city. so you go melissa bachman and for the rest of you go back to your city lives and stop messin with her.

[John]

Anybody ever been to Africa? Lions don't run away. In fact, they just hang out in the sun. Calling it hunting and calling herself a huntress is ridiculous.

[Get Real]

How mindless are conservationists? You spend millions of dollars to retore an endangered species back to a healthy population just to pass legislation to hunt them back to the endangered list. It's a perpetual cycle that washes itself out until the species no longer exists. The most interesting part is that South Africa is so politically corrupt that most if the money made from charity and big hunting goes straight into the pockets of the top officials. Look it up on National Geographics database, this has been known for a very long time. So don't come here praising the kill like you have any clue on what's really happening here because chances are you don't. There's a fine line between real hunters and the ones I see posting on this article. The same goes for fishing. Keep those big boys in the gene pool for future generations to enjoy. The real trophy is seeing the natural beauties in their habitat while they last, not you sitting on top of it smiling like you're posing for a family photo.

[JACKJAES]

The American TV star sparked outrage after posting a snap showing her smiling as she posed with a gun next to the carcass of a male lion on Facebook and other social media.
http://talktodayonline.blogspot.com/2013/11/lion-huntress-melissa-bachman-under.html

[Eduardo]

This thing is completly sick. I pray one day she will be victims of own ignorance. On that day she will be killed by a predator. This predator will still have the dignity not to take a picture of your hunt. Any animal on the planet is better than a hunter
The world will celebrate that Day.

[Alan Dean Foster]

Any real hunter should sign this:

https://www.change.org/petitions/stop-canned-hunting-in-south-africa

[Craig]

Dr Joanne Stone, how did you ever become a Doctor with your spelling? Can you even speak english?

Melissa, keep on doing what you do, Nice Lion.

[Mari]

I read the facts. I am not opposed to hunting per se, however, I must say that seeing a photo of anyone next to a dead male lion (which appears to have been healthy) is very upsetting.

I realise that the "lady" had the necessary legal documents however I am not certain I or most others care about the legal documents....hunt animals which are thriving....if the male lion was unwanted in his area surely it could have been relocated? I recently watched a program about the devastating effects of the death of a male lion on a pride....it is quite serious.

Not pointing a finger at this specific lady nor the people who facilitated the hunt however I believe Lion hunting as a whole should not be happening unless there is direct evidence that culling is needed and that there are no benefits to relocating them.

[Barry]

It's just good shooting. What's the problem? If you're too weak in the knees and squishy to do it, don't.

[Chris Stephens]

"Conservation through sustainable hunting"

Yes it might actually have some conversational benefits, but what Melissa Bachman is doing is nothing more than shameless promotion of sports hunting as a means of boosting the sales of ammunition.

I would love to go hunting with Melissa, no guns, no knives and no animals, just me and her to see who is the better hunter. ;)

Sporting hunters make me laugh with the way they brag about how they are such great hunters, there is nothing sporting or great about shooting a defenseless animal from 100m away with a rifle. I should know because I used to be a professional hunter of feral pigs and I made a pretty good living out of it, but I didn't do it because I enjoyed it, I did because I was good at it.

[jeanclaude simmon]

she should be banned from these world; she need to taste some prison time and after that she need to be caged with tigers and lions. i would lough my but off when i'll see her boob job fail and deflated like a used condom. u deserve to be treated in the same way . you ugly whore need to pay for being so stupid.

[Kush Gangar]

It is absolutely ridiculous that hunters call themselves conservationists. Who the hell are humans to decide that the population of lions need trimming? If hunting lions to control their population is legitimate, then by that logic, should we mass murder people in India and China to control the population of humans. The truth is that hunters do not give a flying fuck about the population of animals or about conserving them. They just thrive on the rush of stalking and killing innocent, defenseless animals.

[Bena Ogner]

i will make it short, I TOTALLY AGREE WITH DR. JOANN STONE.

i hope south africa is proud enough to ban people of your calibre never to return. i go to africa every year

for three weeks in the bush, there is nothing more wonderful to see the animals LIVE in big families. i wish

you had come across a few lionesses. ready for lunch. BENA OGNER

[Dennis feela]

Congratulations Melissa on a fantastic looking animal. Keep on hunting and doing what you do. Hunting is a wonderfully past time, and happy to have taught my children to hunt and enjoy the hole process of planing the hunt and having success. THANK YOU

[Chris Aldous]

When making a decision and before commenting I try to find someone who knows what they are talking about. Among others I found the following.

http://www.science20.com/anthrophysis/can_you_save_threatened_species_hunting_it-86729

I learned and now I have a more informed opinion.

Chris Aldous

[Bud Botkin]

Get over it!!!!!!! Just because you do not participate in hunting doesn't mean others should not.
People with such malice and disrespect for others do not deserve the opportunity to post such comments.

[gary pinette]

I understand that the hunt was legal and all that stuff--however, I am mostly struck but her face which seems to express such a sense of delight in killing this beautiful animal. Given there appears to be a tripod attached to the rifle, it suggests to me that she was not that close, so she was not even risking anything. She apparently just enjoyed killing this beautiful animal. I just don't get it.

[DR JOANN STONE]

CREEP MB YOU ARE A DISGRACE TO CIVILIZED FEMALES EVERYWHERE A LOOSER THAT WILL COMMIT MURDER FOR ATTENTION.

MAY I SUGGEST YOU GET YOU SICKNESS OFF BY DROWNING IN THE SEWAR YOU CAME FROM