For a 19 year-old teenager getting so many views on her Facebook account, it would be a thrilling prospect to be an overnight social media sensation. However, her photos are less to be admired. When Texas Tech university student and cheerleader Kendall Jones shared photos of her hunting wild animals presumably from an African safari, she managed to incite fury all over the world for her cruelty to animals. In all of her hunting photos, Jones gamely posed for the camera with her sunny smile as her victims, including a lion, rhinoceros, antelope, leopard, elephant, zebra and hippopotamus, lay dead beside her.
The Independent said that Jones is currently the subject of at least two petitions, of which one has around a hundred thousand signatures and calls for her Facebook page to be removed. The petition, which was created on AVAAZ.org, is urging for more signatures. "(Please sign) for the sake of all animals, especially the animals in the African region...where hunters are going for fun just to kill an animal," the petition read.
The other petition created on Change.org calls for Jones to be denied access to all African states.
Jones, in her defense, said that she is doing her part in conservation to be able to make a difference. She also said that not all of the animals in the published photos were dead, and that they were merely tranquilized for educational use.
She wrote on her Facebook photo of what she claimed to be a live animal, "The vet drew blood, took DNA samples, took body and head measurements, treated a leg injury and administered antibiotics. I felt very lucky to be part of such a great program and procedure that helps the White Rhino population through conservation."
Buzzfeed received word from Facebook about Jones' photos, which read, "We remove reported content that promotes poaching of endangered species, the sale of animals for organized fight or content that includes extreme acts of animal abuse. Certain content, which some may find offensive, can be used to spread awareness and we welcome dialogue about animal abuse, hunting, and other animal rights issues."
Pigman TV, the organization behind Jones' upcoming television show focused on her hunting expeditions, also told the viral news site that plans to put the show on air in 2015 is still a go. In defense of Kendall and her companion's hunting expeditions, the organization said, "We're very proud of Kendall and Cody in not only helping to conserve these species for future generations, but also for helping contribute both money and jobs to an extremely poor area of Africa."
