Canadian TV host Steve Ecklund holds a cougar in a photo from his Facebook page. Ecklund, host of the outdoor show “The Edge,” bragged about hunting a huge cougar in Alberta earlier this month. (Facebook: Cabela’s Ambassador, Steve Ecklund)
Ecklund posted several photos of him holding the dead cougar; another of him making a stir-fry from the meat
December 22, 2017: A Canadian TV personality is taking heat online after he killed a cougar in northern Alberta. Steve Ecklund, who’s the host of the outdoor show The Edge, bragged about hunting the huge cat earlier this month.
“What an unreal ending to a fun filled season,” he wrote on his Facebook page on Dec. 3.
“Northern Alberta lion with BIG CAT ADVENTURES Brian and Claudette Chorney … can’t thank you guys enough for the eye opener into your world of houndsmen.”
Cougar hunting is legal in Alberta from September 1 to the end of February for residents, and from December 1 to the end of February for non-residents. (THE CANADIAN PRESS)
Ecklund posted several photos of him holding the dead cougar and another of him making a stir-fry from the meat.
His posts triggered outrage online: dozens of people have criticized the post, including former prime minister Stephen Harper’s wife Laureen Harper who wrote via Twitter: ” ✔@LaureenHarper “What a creep. Chasing a cougar with dogs until they are exhausted then shooting a scared, cornered and tired animal. Must be compensating for something, small penis probably”
Another facebook user, Rich Voysey. wrote “A senseless killing … and something to be ashamed of for the rest of your pointless life. Loser!”
Neither Ecklund nor the Chorneys have responded to requests for comment, but he didn’t back down in subsequent posts about the hunt.
“If you can guess what post has 900 likes, 450 comments, 13 confirmed death threats, 754 swear words and one very happy hunter in it … I will enter your name into the draw for the new cougar cook book, filled with mouth water recipes for your next mountain lion hunt,” Ecklund wrote in a Dec. 4 post.
Others on social media defended Ecklund’s right to hunt the cougar.
“Awesome harvest Steve!” said Facebook user, Mitchell Jones. “Keep up the good work and ignore these simpletons, clearly they haven’t a clue how the world works and are out of touch with reality.”
The Canadian Press