Mom Heather Del Moral, 34, takes her three children hunting often. Heather works for Oklahoma's wildlife department, and her three children Papi, Isa and Armonia are all between the ages of nine and 14. They're young, but Heather claims that taking them hunting strengthens their familial bond and teaches them respect for animals - away from social media and digital false consciousness. Heather says: "Some of my most memorable times with the kids are when we’re out hunting together. They don’t bring their phones, so we can properly talk, laugh and connect. I’ve had people tell me they can’t believe I take my children hunting. I respect their opinion, but ask they respect mine too, and don’t knock something they haven’t tried. "Hunting gets children out there amongst nature, and teaches them respect for animals. They’re fascinated by the biology of it all too. They help clean the animals, and I show them the heart and talk them through all the different chambers. The kids also play lots of sports, so we go as much as our schedules allow. My husband Juan doesn’t really get it. He’d rather be home watching sports. "The children love it though. They haven’t shot doves yet, they prefer to run out and catch them, but they’ve caught loads of turkeys, deer and fish. When we do kill something, we don’t just leave it there. We’ll clean it and take it for meat so it isn’t wasted. We beat it into their brain to always be aware of their surroundings – safety, safety, safety. It’s not a video game. These are real-life guns." What do you think? Frankly, I think it's absurd to think there's any problem with this. First of all, if you eat meat but you whine about hunting, you are simply living in a fantasy. If you wouldn't kill flesh but you would purchase and eat it, all you're saying is that the material reality of your choices is too ugly for you to face. Either go vegetarian or accept that hunting, and thus hunters, are something you tacitly approve of every time you bite into a burger. Second, it's so much better to hunt yourself than to purchase meat. You're gaining an understanding of the direct means of meat production, and in America, hunting does control the enormous deer population. I saw this story picked up by numerous English outlets, who raised their dainty parasols in shock and horror at the idea of hunting, but it's really just childish. The only possible contention is that the children are too young to be using guns, but being trained how to use guns at a young age has no connection to using guns for crimes later in life. In large swathes of America, millions of children are raised hunting and farming, and operating a gun is just part and parcel of killing what you eat. All you keyboard warriors who love Game of Thrones would do well to understand "The one who passes the sentence should swing the sword." What do you think? Is some outrage justifiable, or is this just American values in a genuine way? Do you eat meat? If so, what exactly is the problem with hunting?

A woman has been sentenced to four days in jail and slapped with a fine after a video emerged of her refusing to move away from a bear at Yellowstone National Park.

As reported by Insider, Samantha R. Dehring, who hails from Carol Stream in Illinois, willingly endangered herself and several animals at Yellowstone Park during the incident on May 10.

Dehring was recorded at the Roaring Mountain section of the park, and could be seen attempting to get up close to a grizzly bear and her three cubs, in order to snap a quick picture on her cell phone.

The 25-year-old later pleaded guilty to "willfully remaining, approaching, and photographing wildlife within 100 yards."

The footage, which can be seen above, was shared with Yellowstone Park Rangers, who later provided the results of their investigation to US Rangers in the area where Dehring lives.

Per Insider, acting US attorney for the District of Wyoming Bob Murray said on Thursday: "Approaching a sow grizzly with cubs is absolutely foolish. Here, pure luck is why Dehring is a criminal defendant and not a mauled tourist."

Dehring was sentenced to four days in jail.

"Wildlife in Yellowstone National Park are, indeed, wild," Murray added. "The park is not a zoo where animals can be viewed within the safety of a fenced enclosure. They roam freely in their natural habitat and when threatened will react accordingly."

As decided by US Magistrate Judge Mark L. Carman, Dehring has also been banned from Yellowstone for a year and served a $1,000 fine and a $1,000 community service payment to Yellowstone Forever Wildlife Protection Fund.

The count for "feeding, touching, teasing, frightening, or intentionally disturbing wildlife" was dismissed.

The Daily Herald reports that eight people have been killed by grizzlies since 2010. A Montana fisherman by the name of  Charles "Carl" Mock was killed back in April.

Featured image credit: Mark Lee / Alamy

Three hunters in Montana who killed a mountain lion in Yellowstone National Park have been caught, reportedly thanks to pictures the trio posted on social media.

Austin Peterson, Trey Juhnke and Corbin Simmons were sentenced last month to a three-year worldwide hunting ban. Game wardens were alerted by other hunters to their social media photos of the illegal kill, which the three young men had shared to Instagram, Snapchat and Facebook.

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When authorities interviewed them, Peterson, Juhnke and Simmons all admitted to shooting the lion in a clearly marked area of the park on December 12, 2018. They then took it back to their vehicle across the border.

The trio later contradicted details in each other’s accounts, including who actually shot and killed the lion, which gave investigators enough leverage to prosecute them. It turned out that all three had fired at the mature male lion. The lion had been shot a total of eight times by the hunters.

Peterson, Juhnke and Simmons have all pled guilty to the charges facing them. They have now been ordered to pay a fine in compensation and have been slapped with three-year unsupervised probation charges, which includes the worldwide hunting ban.

Commenting on their apprehension, Yellowstone National Park Chief Ranger Pete Webster said: "I would like to express a sincere thank you to Montana Fish, Wildlife, and Parks, law enforcement officers at Yellowstone National Park, the National Park Service Investigative Services Branch, and the US Attorney’s Office – District of Wyoming for being involved in this case."

He added: "Their thorough work spotlighted this egregious act and the consequences incurred for hunting illegally in Yellowstone National Park."

A dad has revealed how he is already teaching his two-year-old son how to hunt - but not everyone agrees with the activity.

Zach Williams, from Australia, is a father to a two-year-old son and a seven-year-old stepson. He is currently teaching his eldest how to shoot with a bow and arrow while his younger son watches.

The father spoke with news.com.au’s podcast I’ve Got News For You and disclosed that he takes his children hunting because he wants to share the adventures he had when he was growing up.

"I started hunting before I had any memory of going out. My grandparents used to take me out camping and fishing and hunting quite young so it’s just all I’ve known growing up," he told host Andrew Bucklow.

"I’ve got my stepson’s elbow and have wound down the poundage, which is the drawer weight and I’ve just started letting him shoot targets with help from myself," Zach said. "(My younger son) giggles, shoots the bow again, giggles and he’s like more please dad."

Watch a video of Williams and his son below:

Williams also takes his youngest son to explore nature that surrounds him, saying: "I want him to have fun out there, take notice of all the other things that’s going on."

"You see all the native animals, you see all the native bird life, you come across lizards, see plenty of kangaroos, emus, and stuff like that," he added.

Williams insisted that there there are educational factors behind teaching his children how to hunt that others don’t see. This includes "butchering" their meat, educating them on conservation, and the threats feral animals set on the environment.

The father also said that he doesn’t want his sons to harm animals just yet when they go hunting, because they don’t have the capacity to kill their prey in a "humane" way.

"You need a certain poundage to efficiently, effectively, and humanely kill something with a bow and arrow and that’s what you’re trying for when your bow hunting is the most humane shot possible," Williams said.

"So you have to get lots of practice in it and you also have to have the right setup, the right arrow. So it’s as clean a kill as possible," he added.

An MP for Australia's Animal Justice Party, Emma Hurst, opposes the activity and is concerned about the NSW government’s plans for existing hunting regulations that involve children.

Hurst told the podcast host that the bids - which include children being able to hunt with bows and dogs - should be discarded.

"These are absolutely shocking proposals being put forward by the Minister Agriculture Dugald Saunders, it completely ignores the significant safety risk of these weapons, and the enormous animal welfare impacts that they will have as well," she said.

The politician also said she is worried about the "traumatic experiences" children may get from hunting and heavily criticized parents like Williams.

However, Williams acknowledged that hunting can be confronting at first but said once his seven-year-old son discovered where meat comes from, he started to enjoy the activity.

"It’s time that we spend bonding together…and they’re learning that step of getting fresh meat in their freezer," he added.

Featured image credit: Buzz Pictures / Alamy

A video has gone viral on social media this week, which shows a deer hunter being confronted by a father and son.

According to The New York Post, the incident allegedly occurred after bowhunter Dominick Lobifaro was confronted by a man from Oakdale and his son.

The duo was apparently unhappy to see him scoping out a state-owned land for game, and can be seen lambasting him on camera.

When a number of other tearful children appeared to taunt the hunter for his sport, Lobifaro defending himself by stating: "I’m sorry that [the kids are] crying - you need to explain to them that it’s part of life. I’m not trying to do anything bad. And I’m going to eat [the deer]. Instead, you let somebody else kill it."

The father called Suffolk County police — then accused Lobifaro of having an 'issue' before verbally abusing him some more. The tense standoff ended only after Lobifaro called the state Department of Environmental Conservation and an officer responded, telling the man and his son that Lobifaro was well within his rights to hunt in the area.

Check out the video of father and son confronting the hunter in the video below:

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This isn't the first deer-hunting-related story we've covered this week. According to CNN, a 66-year-old man was found severely injured in the woods in Arkansas on the evening of Tuesday, October 22, after he was killed by a deer that he'd shot and which had played dead, before rearing up to pierce him with its antlers.

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When the man's nephew discovered him, he was still alive and lucid enough to attempt to call his wife. Unfortunately, he stopped breathing by the time paramedics arrived at the scene. They were unable to resuscitate him.

Speaking to CNN, Game and Fish Commission spokesman Dale Purdom stated that this is the first time he'd heard of a hunter being killed after approaching a stunned deer since they typically spring up and dash away after playing dead.