Liberte Austin is among those appearing on the channel
Liberte Austin of Miss Wildgame is among the presenters and guests appearing on My Outdoor TV My Outdoor TV

Arsenal owner Stan Kroenke is being hit with backlash from both fans and animal rights groups after launching a bloodsports TV channel.

My Outdoor TV (MOTV) allows subscribers to watch thousands of hours of hunting, shooting and fishing shows for around £7.60 ($9.99) a month.

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In one programme a presenter shoots an African elephant that then charges at him, before two more shots bring it down.

"There's no other feeling in the world quite like walking up on your bull elephant," the presenter says.

In an episode of another show called Dark Continent Quest, presenter Jana Waller shoots a hartebeest in South Africa with a bow and arrow before it flees.

"It's a good shot. Definitely, some liver and some lungs hit," says her guide John Faul as they wait for the animal to bleed to death.

Arsenal fan and ITV political broadcaster Robert Peston tweeted: "As an Arsenal supporter I have to pay money to this person. I feel sick."

But channel spokesman Simon Barr told The Times: "MOTV will present ethical, fair chase hunting, and as long as it's legal it will be on there."

He added: "If you like hunting elephants, there will be legal elephant hunts, ethical elephant hunts shown in that context."

Big game hunt supporters argue that bloodsports help pay for conservation, particularly in inhospitable areas or regions where wildlife is too scarce to attract large numbers of sightseeing tourists.

Own goal

But Philippa King, chief operating officer of the League Against Cruel Sports, said Kroenke had scored a "massive own goal".

She added: "Most people won't agree that trophy hunting is in any way ethical, and studies have debunked claims that most of the blood money goes towards supporting conservation.

"I'm not sure in what way an idiot with a gun against an elephant is a fair chase."

American Kroenke is worth an estimated $7.5bn and also owns the LA Rams NFL team.

MOTV, which was launched at the weekend in Britain, is owned by the Outdoor Sportsman Group, part of Kroenke Sports Entertainment. The channel already runs in the US.

A spokesman said the UK launch was about expanding the channel's presence across English-language audiences.

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