I trolled through my Facebook news feed (feeling slightly guilty about doing so after all of the recent privacy breaching hooplah) and practically spit out a gulp of coffee after spotting a link to the Kendall Jones Hunting Page.
It was a photo of a fresh-faced blond girl standing in a camo outfit with her arms wrapped around a giant, slumped African tiger. I navigated through her profile, which boasted even more photos showcasing her perched behind fallen rhinos, smiling down at the camera over the head of a conquered Mufasa.
I didn’t like what I saw, (although I tried not to judge on the basis that I know nothing about hunting) but I did register the influx of hate comments that condemned Kendall Jones for even existing on this messed up planet. People were somewhat creative with their insults, calling her a “slime ball” and a “spoiled brat.” The post I’d initially clicked on from my friend had told Kendall to “Go straight to hell.”
Via: gannett-cdn.com
I couldn’t believe a girl my age, attending a college similar to mine, could find any pleasure in killing animals that I feel shouldn’t even be behind bars at a zoo. But the Internet world was ablaze with controversy over Kendall’s hobby of choice, so I sorted through the hordes of information to find the basic arguments behind her supporters and aggressive haters.
A petition was created to stop Kendall Jones from hunting in Africa, which currently has almost one hundred and forty thousand online signatures.
The petition reads: “Kendall Jones is an American born hunter who has entered the continent and has been hunting African wildlife under the façade of conservation. She has publicly stated that she hopes to have a television hunting show and she is using endangered and helpless African animals as a stepping stone to further her popularity on social media.”
I shudder at the thought of what might come out of this, probably Kim Kardashian in a Versace Camouflage outfit drinking mimosas with a hunting rifle.
Via: business2community.com
Even Facebook stepped in and deleted some of her photos under the pretense that they will remove any content that “promotes poaching of endangered species, the sale of animals for organized fight or extreme acts of animal abuse.”
Kendall justifies her hunting escapes under the pretense of conservation.
“There are many parts of Zimbabwe where there is an abundant population of leopards that wreak havoc on the livestock of the farmers in the village. Instead of the villagers killing the leopards to prevent livestock damage, permits are sold to hunters to do this for them.”
The funds from this permit money, according to Kendall, go back into the villages to cover basic survival necessities such as clean, working water wells.
“The same is true of elephants, who often destroy village crops. Meat from a single elephant provides protein for more than one hundred families as well.”
Via: nydailynews.com
A photo of Kendall smiling her cheerleader grin behind a very dead-looking rhino received the most negative backlash because this certain species of animal is already borderline extinct. She claims to have only tranquilized the rhino so that a group of veterinarians could administer antibiotics to its leg injury.
What I learned from all this information is that it’s important to do a little research before commenting about how much you’d like to see Kendall as dead as her African game. Perhaps the bigger picture is that determining whether or not you agree that hunting animals of this size (or any size, for that matter) is something that our lawmakers can justify. Does it truly help to conserve our environment, or does it contribute to its destruction? Or, is the question just whether or not her photos are appropriate for social media?
A message to Kendall and all those posting about Kendall (negative or positive): Think before you post.
Featured photo courtesy of: timeinc.net
