Many people have reacted after a woman shared a photo of her posing with a lion she killed.
Esplin poses with the Lion
Franchesca Esplin’s photo with the dead animal was posted by animal activist group Prairie Protection Colorado,
DailyStar UK has reported.
There were other snaps of Esplin, 28, of Colorado, US, posing with a rifle as she looked to take aim at her prey.
The mother, a taxidermist, proudly said that the slain mountain lion was “top of my bucket list forever”.
Prairie Protection Colorado also shared a now deleted post from Esplin’s Facebook page, talking about her “amazing” hunt from December, 2018.
She said: “Thank you to all those that helped out, you guys have NO idea how happy I am.
“I can see why this hunt is addicting.”
Esplin also thanked the houndsmen who helped her “harvest this amazing tom”.
The killing has fuelled calls for mountain lion hunting to be banned and a petition has been set up.
She was labelled “sadistic” by Prairie Protection Colorado.
The group wrote: “This is the mentality of people who kill predator species for sport and fun.
“Make no mistake that Colorado’s wildlife policies and officials this insane looting of Colorado’s wildlife.
“It’s OUR RESPONSIBILITY as people who care about wildlife to END the insanity of killing for pleasure.
“We have to do more than get angry and type it on Facebook. We need to all come together to start the process of changing laws.”
Esplin, though, argued that she had done nothing wrong.
She told US television that her hunting is “completely legal”.
Currently hunters need a licence in Colorado and they are allowed to kill one mountain lion per season.