Kendall Jones: The Texas Cheerleader Who Kills Rare African Beasts For Fun

A teenage cheerleader from Texas has grabbed headlines worldwide after posting pictures online featuring rare animals she killed while in Africa.

Kendall Jones, 19, posted pictures of herself on Facebook posing with a crossbow and dead animals, including a lion, elephant, rhino and leopard.

The teenager has sparked fury across the globe, with thousands condemning her actions. A petition has also been launched calling for Facebook to pull down her page – which has over 134,000 followers.

The petitition says the page should be removed "for the sake of all animals, especially the animals in the African region, where hunters are going for fun just to kill an animal.

"Some people have been reporting the pages lately but it seems Facebook is not concerned about what Kendall Jones is promoting in her page."

The petition currently has over 113,000 signatures and is fast approaching its target of 200,000. There is also a Change.org petition to ban her from Africa.

Jones grew up in Cleburne, a small town in Texas. She said she first became interested in hunting at the age of nine after seeing her father hunt animals while on a trip to Zimbabwe. She made her first kill, a white rhino, at 13.

"As badly as I wanted to shoot something I was just too small to hold the guns my dad had brought," she wrote on her Facebook page.

"I became fascinated with the culture over there and visited one of the elementary schools to deliver candy, coloring books and soccer balls to the under privileged children. This was an eye opening experience for me to see how other children my age lived in a third world country.

"In 2008, (age 13) I took my second trip to Africa ... Although I had many other opportunities to shoot animals I wanted to save it for the Big 5, so the first animal I ever shot was a White Rhino with a .416 Remington!!"

Jones is currently studying at Texas Tech University studying Marketing and Sports Therapy. She is also a cheerleader for the university's football, basketball and volleyball teams, and hopes to become a TV presenter.

The teenager posted the pictures of herself with her kills online after participating in the hunt, shortly after which the images went viral. She claims funds from the hunt go to the government and actually helps with conservation by helping farmers keep and raise the animals on their properties.

She also claims that not all of the animals she poses with are dead – she says some have been tranquillised for scientific purposes.

However, the backlash remained.

"That lion you maimed and killed with your crossbow is still more vital and honourable than you will ever be. Shooting endangered animals and taking selfies with their corpses. You are the prime example of what is wrong with this world," one user said of the picture with the dead lion.

"Trophy hunting majestic and rare animals so you can get paid by the people who sponsor you is sick! You're a bimbo with a bow looking for a pay day."

Following the onslaught, Jones launched a support page for herself with the tagline hunt conservation, not humans. The page currently has almost 60,000 followers.

Posting an explanation, she said: "If there wasn't a value to hunting these animals, there would be no incentive to raise these animals. That's how hunting and conservation works people ... How would farmers be able to afford monthly feed and vet bills (over $15,000 a month) if there was no value on the animals. Come on people think about these things. Hunters are the biggest conservationists there are."