A Montana hunter has been charged after she mistook a Siberian husky for a wolf cub during a hunting trip.
Amber Rose Barnes proudly flaunted snaps of the skinned pelt on social media before realizing it was a six-month-old puppy rather than a wild animal.
According to a report by TMZ, the incident took place back in September near Doris Creek in the Flathead National Forest. At the time, Barnes took to Facebook to boast about the kill, sharing a series of photos.
"So this morning I set out for a solo predator hunt for a fall black bear however I got the opportunity to take another predator wolf pup," the 36-year-old wrote.
"2022 was a great feeling to text my man and say I just smoked a wolf pup #firstworld #onelesspredatorMT," she added.
Unsurprisingly, Barnes' social media post sparked an uproar, with many people accusing her of animal cruelty. Far from being cowed by the online response, Barnes doubled down, once again taking to social media to claim that even if she had known it was a husky, she still would have shot the animal.
"This animal was growling howling and coming at me like it was going to eat me," she wrote, per the New York Post, adding: "Yes, I made a mistake because I did think it was a hybrid wolf pup but I was not aware of a [sic] 19 dogs being dropped 11 miles into the wilderness either way yes I would still have shot it because it was aggressive and coming directly for me!"
Barnes' boyfriend Frank Tallent also took to Facebook to defend her. In a lengthy rant, he wrote: "My girlfriend was out hunting and shot a f***ig dog that was dumped out in the woods."
"No charges have been filed or will be filed because no laws were broke it was a deer chasing feral a** dog [in] the wrong place at the wrong time," he added.
Despite Tallent's belief that no laws were broken, Barnes has now been cited with misdemeanor animal cruelty, the Flathead County Sherrif's Office told Fox News Digital.
Barnes pleaded not guilty in court on Friday, the Daily Mail reports. She is set to appear in Justice Court later this month.
