Texas Tech Cheerleader Angers Animal Activists After Posting Hunting Pictures While on African Safari

Texas Tech Cheerleader Kendall Jones has caught the ire of activists after she posted pictures on her Facebook page of big game she has hunted in Africa. Her Facebook page shows the 19-year-old next to dead lions, hippos, rhinos, and other large animals. According to the Daily Mail, not everyone is proud of her hunting skills.

An online petition to force Kendall to remove her page because it promotes animal cruelty had gained over 40,000 signatures in just a week.

'For the sake of all animals,' reads the petition as it implored animal lovers to sign, 'especially the animals in the African region... where hunters are going for fun just to kill an animal!'

Jones, whose Facebook indicates she 'is looking to host a TV show in January 2015,' maintains she is doing what's best for the preserves, where there isn't always space for even threatened species like elephants or lions.

'Controlling the male lion population is important within large fenced areas like these,' Jones writes. 'Funds from a hunt like this goes partially to the government for permits but also to the farm owner as an incentive to keep and raise lions on their property.'

Jones's photos show her posing with bagged zebras, hugging a dead leopard, and smiling beside elephants she's killed.

One particular photo, in which she's posing alongside a an extremely endangered rhinoceros, has her critics especially steaming, but the Texas Tech cheerleader says it was alive and well.

'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,' she wrote.

Texas Tech Director of Communications, Chris Cook, responded to KFYO by saying Jones' trip was "a private hunting trip the student took with her family and was unrelated to Texas Tech." What do you think about this? Are activists blowing this out of proportion or should people be angry about this? You can view more pictures of Jones and her hunting skills here.