Is being a hunter at odds with pursuing a career caring for animals?
Posted 23rd January 2018
A trainee veterinary surgeon who is also an avid hunter and frequently posts photos of herself online, posing with her recent kills, has received a media backlash with many people accusing her of hypocrisy. The future vet, who is from America, appears to show real pleasure in the killing of birds, pigs, deer and the other wildlife that she regularly hunts, something that could be considered at odds with her chosen profession, which is centred on caring for animals.
Jordi Casamitjama, Head of Research and Policy at the League Against of Cruel Sports said: "It is very worrying to see that a person who has specifically chosen to work in a profession fundamentally based on the concept "do no harm", is engaging in lethal violence against innocent creatures and trying to justify this publicly with all sort of excuses, believing that this somehow makes it acceptable.
"Vets, like medical doctors, should be constantly challenging those who use conservation, economics, leisure, tradition, sport, or religion to justify hurting and killing any individual sentient being, human or otherwise. Vets should be on the side of the animals, not on the side of those who hurt them for fun, and each of us that believes all animals deserve a full life free from pain, suffering, distress and discomfort, should speak up when those who we entrust to protect animals are unashamedly doing the opposite."