Shooting Back at PETA

PETA doesn’t really expect anyone to shoot back when they start attacking stars who disagree with their radical all-vegan, no pets/kill pets agenda. I can somewhat understand why they don’t want to give PETA any attention, but sometimes a well-written response can help our causes far more than theirs.

Only one episode of “American Idol” contestant Kristy Lee Cook’s new hunting show, “Goin’ Country with Kristy Lee Cook,” aired on Versus before the animal rights organization People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals started firing shots at the singer. …

“Goin’ Country,” a reality show which started its eight-episode run Sunday, follows Cook while she participates in hunts across the nation, all while trying to also bag a recording deal. Featuring some of the performer’s new music, each episode follows the seventh-season “Idol” finalist as she heads to Texas in search of trophy whitetail deer, visits Kansas and Wyoming for pheasant hunting, takes part in her first black bear hunt in Wisconsin and Illinois, and is challenged while turkey hunting in Tennessee and Missouri. …

Cook did not take the comments lying down, defending not only herself but all hunters, and issued the following response:

“Given that hunters have done more for American wildlife conservation than any other group in history, I make no apology for being one,” she said. “Indeed, I join the ranks of millions of American hunters who celebrate our outdoor heritage and who conserve millions of acres of wild lands. These same people support more than 600,000 jobs across the country and provide a critical voice to encourage more investment in American conservation.”

Cook added that, while she could understand people who oppose her decision to hunt, she has taken several non-hunters out with her — including her sister — and changed their minds about the sport.

Unlike PETA, this hunter doesn’t kill any animal that comes into her care:

The series will also highlight Cook’s work with the “Kristy Lee Horse Heaven Foundation,” a charity which helps rescue horses that have been abused or neglected.

Beating down PETA, recruiting more female hunters, saving horses, and getting out the message that hunters were the first conservationists – while successfully harvesting a pretty awesome collection of animals – that’s a show I could get behind.