Hunters Troll PETA—but the Joke Backfires on Them

Group’s ‘Shoot Selfies, Not Animals’ Facebook Frame Views Shoot Up in Popularity, Thanks to Animal Killers’ Use

For Immediate Release:
August 24, 2017

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

The number one most popular profile frame on Facebook is now PETA’s “Shoot Selfies, Not Animals” anti-hunting frame—and it’s all because of hunters who were making fun of compassion by “trolling” the animal rights group, even using children posing with animal corpses.

After PETA launched its new Facebook frames, hunters started using the “shoot selfies” one on photos of themselves and their children posing with the bodies of animals they had killed. But as a result, the hunters have introduced PETA and its anti-hunting message to a whole new audience: More than 250,000 people have now used the frame—and the number of people spreading the anti-hunting message is growing, as PETA saw more than a 50 percent increase in “likes” of its Facebook page from Tuesday to Wednesday.

“These trigger-happy trolls didn’t realize that they were helping to spread PETA’s message of respect for wildlife,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “Supportive messages are pouring in from people who agree that only bullies or cowards get their kicks from gunning down a beautiful wild animal.”

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to abuse in any way”—notes that the number of young children posing in the would-be trolls’ photos is cause for concern: Nearly every serial killer and school shooter first killed animals. PETA encourages parents to teach their children empathy for others by encouraging them to shoot with a camera instead of a gun.

For more information, please visit PETA.org.