Hunters unmercifully troll PETA’s ‘Shoot Selfies, Not Animals’ campaign

A PETA campaign urging people not to hunt has backfired in spectacular fashion after being hijacked by hunters.

People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) created a ‘Facebook frame’ saying “Shoot selfies, not animals.” The idea was to have people take photos of themselves and overlay them with the frame so their Facebook friends would know that they’re opposed to hunting.

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However, predictably enough, hunters seized upon the idea and started posting it on photos of themselves with dead animals.

Photos of hunters posing with all manner of animals – from ducks, to bucks, to alligators – were shared by people looking to rub PETA’s nose in it.

“All hunters and fisherman all need to stand as one despite our differences and thoughts of what’s right and wrong in our sport,” hunter Matt Caire, from Louisiana, said in a response to the PETA campaign.

“I have no problem if someone doesn’t eat animals… or hunt (or) fish. but just because they don’t like it, doesn’t mean we can’t do it.”

PETA had a different take on the whole episode, however. “It’s not every day that thousands of hunters throw their support behind PETA, but that’s exactly what happened when we launched our ‘Shoot Selfies, Not Animals’ Facebook frame earlier this week,” the animal rights organization said in a statement.

The group say more than 250,000 people have used the frame, making it one of the most popular on Facebook. It also said that its Facebook page saw a 50 percent increase in ‘likes’ this week.

“PETA owes a big thank-you to the would-be trolls who are spreading our message of compassion,” Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said.

“The supportive messages are pouring in from kind people who agree that only bullies or cowards get their kicks from gunning down beautiful wild animals.”

PETA also raised concerns about the number of young children posing in the photos alongside dead animals and the “would-be trolls.”

“Nearly every serial killer and school shooter killed animals before moving on to humans,” it claimed.