Hunting is not a new thing. This is not a “fad” that has grown to mammoth proportions in a short amount of time. It is an old concept. Ancient even. In certain parts of the world, even in specific parts of our country, hunting is the only food source available to men and women. But, with that being said, there are those who hunt for the wrong reasons.

Recently Rebecca Francis, a self-titled “hunting queen”from Utah, has been on the receiving end of numerous attacks after British comedian Ricky Gervais retweeted a photo of the “huntress” posing, and smiling, next to the body of a giraffe she had shot and killed. A giraffe. Not a lion, or a bear, but a giraffe. Apparently Francis, who hunts throughout America as well as Africa, has made a habit out of posing next to her kills, often sporting a wide, toothy grin. And according to her website and subsequent blog, she has hunted while pregnant and breastfeeding. For the time being we will overlook the insane fact that a mother of eight (yes she has eight children) hunts large game while pregnant and/or breastfeeding her children. For now we will be focusing on the more immediate issue of Francis’ photographic moments.

Is Francis hunting for food? We do not know. Since it seems she has made a celebrity of herself, odds are she is not hunting said animals solely to nourish and clothe her family, which makes her a sport hunter. Whatever thrill or monetary value is connected to her drive to hunt, let’s narrow this down a bit: She shot, and killed, a giraffe. And posed, laying next to the dying animal, and smiled a wide, cheesy grin. What is more unsettling: The fact that she killed a giraffe which is an animal, for all intents and purposes, that does not pose much of a threat to human beings, or that she posed next to the remains of said animal as if she was having her picture taken next to a clown at a local carnival?

Does Francis deserve the salvo of hate mail and threats that she has been receiving? That is open for debate. But someone must have mentioned to her, at some point in time, that her antics and obvious delusions would get her into hot water sooner rather than later. But before you weigh in on the subject, go online, find the picture and then decide. It should be easy enough to find at this point.