An American woman has divided social media with her Instagram account dedicated to her hunting trips.
Nikki Tate is a 27-year-old attorney from Dallas, Texas who goes hunting in her free time.
She regularly posts pictures on her Instagram of the animals she’s killed, and her account has recently reached a wider audience, prompting mixed reactions.
Tate’s Instagram account features pictures of her in the countryside, often wearing camouflage clothing and makeup.
But she also poses with the dead carcasses of the animals she’s killed.
Tate mainly hunts deer, waterfowl and hogs, but has also killed geese, ducks, doves and coyotes. She says her largest kill was a 180 pound buck.
With her husband Khris, Tate eats everything they kill unless the animal in question is a predator like a coyote.
They skin the animals themselves and if they can’t eat everything, they donate the rest to charities that feed the homeless.
“We pride ourselves in only taking ethical shots, and work hard to make sure that it happens,” Tate said. “Hunting helps maintain animal populations at levels that are compatible with human life/activity.”
Tate has a group of girlfriends who she goes out with, saying that they all prefer hunting to brunch.
On Instagram, the attorney has 11,300 followers. However not everyone is on board with her hobby and the way she documents it.
“What a sick ghastly person. Those animals had lives too…” one person wrote online.
“Sick and disgusting! People like her are what is wrong with this world,” added another.
Tate has admitted that she has received death threats in the past, but she hopes people will respect her freedom.
“I hunt for food, conservation, friendship, and so much more, all of which are very important to me,” she says. “If I can respect others’ beliefs, values, and reasons, even those that involve human life and death, please respect mine.”
After her Instagram account was brought to wider public attention, Tate says she’s received a lot of support from the hunting community.
“This is why I love the hunting community - everyone has each other’s backs,” she wrote on Instagram.
“Proud to be a hunter and will continue to share my story and shed a positive light on hunting and the reasons behind it.”
