Melissa Bachman is not welcome in South Africa, according to hundreds of thousands of people who have signed an online petition after she posted a controversial picture on Facebook and Twitter.
Bachman ignited controversy after post a photo of her with with a dead lion. She hunted the lion at the Maroi Conservancy.
“Melissa Bachman has made a career out of hunting wildlife, for pure sport. Her antics are captured extensively on her personal website,” the petition reads. “She is an absolute contradiction to the culture of conservation, this country prides itself on. Her latest Facebook post features her with a lion she has just executed and murdered in our country.”
The petition, started by Elan Burman of Cape Town, has 311,006 signatures as of this writing.
On the other hand, the conservancy defended the photo and itself against hate mail.
“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,” it said. “We have lost 2 eland, 4 giraffes and numerous other animals in the past 2 months that were killed by spears and dogs. We control our game numbers to prevent starvation of animals. “
Hunting on the conservancy is done per guidelines by the Nature Conservation, it said. But the hunt for the lion was arranged for another area as the conservancy, where Bachman stayed for about a month, doesn’t have lions.
“All documentation were in place for this hunt eg permits etc as required by Nature Conservation. The lion was not drugged or enclosed in a camp. It was free roaming on more than 2000 hectares. Melissa is a professional hunter and in no way is she involved in dubious practices,” the conservancy said.
“We are not apologizing for facilitating the hunt. As for all the negative commentary towards us, please consider how much you have contributed to conservation in the past 5 years.”
Bachman herself has not commented on the issue.
When she posted the photo, she said: “An incredible day hunting in South Africa! Stalked inside 60-yards on this beautiful male lion...what a hunt!”
She also posted a photo of herself next to a Nyala that she shot in South Africa.
