You might recall the internet blowing up last week when Kendall Jones, a college cheerleader and big game hunter, posted photos of her kills on Facebook. The photos of Jones smiling over the bodies of a lion, elephant, and others have since been removed, but a Facebook official says Jones’ vocal opponents had nothing to do with it.
A Facebook spokesperson cleared the air in an interview via Mashable by stating that Jones’ photographs were simply in violation of Facebook’s terms of service. The rule that was broken relates to “graphic images shared for sadistic effect or to celebrate or glorify violence.”
The nearly 330,000 signatures on an online petition and countless removal requests were not factored into the decision.
“We remove reported content that promotes poaching of endangered species, the sale of animals for organized fight or content that includes extreme acts of animal abuse,” the spokesperson said.
He or she added that similar content used to spread awareness and start dialogue about animal-rights issues is welcomed. For this reason, the photo of Jones with an rhinoceros immobilized for research has not been removed.
Jones’ Facebook page now has over 500,000 “likes.” She continues to post regularly about conservation efforts being synonymous with hunting.
