Mum-of-three Lucy Jaine, from Wanaka, wishes more people were as connected to nature and where their food comes from as her children are. Photo / Instagram
Mum-of-three Lucy Jaine, from Wanaka, wishes more people were as connected to nature and where their food comes from as her children are. Photo / Instagram
A Kiwi mum who takes her children out hunting says she has received death threats from random strangers online.
Mum-of-three Lucy Jaine, from Wanaka, wishes more people were as connected to nature and where their food comes from as her children are.
She says those who criticise her don't understand the importance of respecting and honouring the animal they eat.
Her children have hunted all their lives and the Otago mum, 29, wouldn't have it any other way.
"They gain an understanding that the animal has had a good life and we honour the animal by utilising it to feed us," she told the Herald.
The Wanaka local says she began hunting when she met her partner Sharn and now, with their three children in tow, they continue to head into the bush or mountains about eight times a month.
She says her children absolutely love the adventure. Seven-year-old Indie, 4-year-old Kahu and little 5-month-old Daisy all have a blast in the outdoors.
"It's exciting and being out in the bush is a lot better for their growing brains than anything. We make fairy gardens, we play hide and seek, we tell stories, we have races, we make things out of sticks and leaves. It's not just about catching wild game, it's also about expanding their minds," she explains.
It's not just about time in the outdoors, though (however great a bonus that is). Jaine is passionately against factory-farming and says that is far worse to animals than hunting them in their natural habitat.
"Factory farms are large-scale operations that house thousands of animals raised just for eating. They are pumped full of hormones and antibiotics to prevent disease and maximise their growth and food output. Then you eat them," she says.
"Confining so many animals in one place produces much more waste than you can imagine. This is a huge environmental issue for our water, land and air. The food animals eat needs earth to grow on. This takes up massive amounts of land, which is killing our planet.
Jaine says she believes it is "far more sustainable for our family to catch our own meat, rather than support factory farming".
Not everyone sees it that way, though, and many people taking time out of their day to send Jaine hateful messages, including death threats and messages wishing her life was "cut short".
"Ur so ugly. Not cute. Hope ur life is cut short," one of the messages the Herald saw reads.
"You stupid b***h, killing innocent animals, stop doing that s**t b***h," another message read.
"You are disgusted by people like you the world is as it is hoputally (sic) and something they will cut your head or hunt you to kill you but first make you suffer as much as they can," another person told the mum via Instagram message.
Despite the hatred, Jaine says she bears no ill-feelings towards the ones sending her nasty messages.
"I don't really wish for people to understand. Their ignorance is not my burden to bear," she says.
"It's not wise to make judgment on something you are not educated about. But everyone is entitled to their own opinions and I'm strong enough not to let it affect me.
"Personally, I would never say such horrible things to someone as I am happy with my life. I have no hate. When someone says something so vicious, I just see it as a reflection on who they are and I wish them happiness. My mum used to say 'what Sally says about Susan says more about Sally than it does about Susan'."
The hunter says she also receives an incredible amount of support, in particular from the hunting community in New Zealand, which includes a lot of fellow female hunters.
