Melissa Bachman petition soars to 245,000 signatures as Ricky Gervais joins barrage of criticism. The comedian, an avid animal rights activist, tweeted his disgust as a campaign for wildlife presenter Bachman to be banned from South Africa gathered pace.
A petition calling for wildlife presenter Melissa Bachman to be banned from South Africa after she posted controversial pictures of herself with a dead lion has attracted almost 245,000 signatures.
The American TV star sparked outrage after posting a snap showing her smiling as she posed with a gun next to the carcass of a male lion on Facebook and other social media.
The petition can be found here.
With the picture, she wrote: "An incredible day hunting in South Africa! Stalked inside 60-yards on this beautiful male lion... What a hunt!"
The "trophy" image prompted a huge backlash which led to Bachman's Twitter account being suspended amid the barrage of criticism.
She has since reactivated the page but is yet to tweet or comment publicly on the scandal.
A petition set up in the wake of the outrage has now been signed by more than 245,000 people.
In a letter addressed to Mkuseli Apleni, director general of South Africa's Department of Home Affairs, Bomo Edna Molewa at the Ministry of Water and Environmental Affairs, and Lakela Kaunda from the private office of the president, the petition's signatories say: "Melissa Bachman has made a career out of hunting wildlife, for pure sport.
"Her antics are captured extensively on her personal website.
"She is an absolute contradiction to the culture and conservation this country prides itself on. Her latest Facebook post features her with a lion she has just executed and murdered in our country.
"As tax payers we demand she no longer be granted access to this country and its natural resources."
Comedian and avid animal rights activist Ricky Gervais has also joined the chorus of anger against Bachman, tweeting his disgust to his five million followers.
In a lengthy Twitter rant, the Derek star wrote: "Animals are not here for us to do as we please with. We are not their superiors, we are their equals. We are their family. Be kind to them.
"There's a big difference between the natural need for a species to kill and eat prey & just shooting an animal simply as a ghastly trophy.
"I'll pay for each pride of lions to have their own designated sniper on their side. Now it's a sport. Where you brave hunters at now? Haha.
"I can't describe the total thrill of never murdering a beautiful wild animal & mounting its head on a wall. It's exhilarating and so natural."
He also tweeted a picture of a mountain lion with the caption: "Would you shoot this beautiful creature for no reason other than it gave you a sick thrill?"
Richard Robinson, from Maryland in the United States, said Bachman's actions were "the epitome of man's complete disregard for nature, for the pursuit of our own approval and self esteem."
He said: "That animal was born to a mother, was a father to many children and was good at its pure existence.
"It might have been 10/20 years old, endured droughts, hunger, all the elements and everything thrown at it, but you came along with a nice big gun...and your digital camera and took all that away. I hope you are proud."
Jessica Moore, from Cape Town in South Africa, said she had signed the petition because animals "are not objects of entertainment or trophies".
Deepa Kamath, from Texas added: "Hunting down defenseless creatures with powerful weapons, for sport and pleasure, is incredibly repulsive and deeply unjust. There is nothing remotely equal about an encounter between an armed human and a wild animal."
Melissa Bachman's website says she films, edits and hunts for a living in her "dream job", and presents television hunting programme Winchester Deadly Passion.
