Nat Geo Drops ‘Hardcore Huntress’ Over Animal Rights Protests (Exclusive)

Change.org petition gets Melissa Bachman bumped from "Ultimate Survivor Alaska"

The National Geographic Channel has dropped a woman known as the "Hardcore Huntress" from an upcoming survival show after protests from people who objected to killing animals for sport.

A Change.org petition asking the network to remove Melissa Bachman from the series "Ultimate Survivor Alaska" resulted in more than 13,000 signatures in less than 24 hours. The network responded by dropping Bachman, a lifelong hunter from Minnesota who also produces and hosts wilderness programming and blogs as the "Hardcore Huntress."

Nat Geo said in a statement: "The National Geographic Channel has carefully considered the public discussion of our series on surviving the wilds of Alaska currently in production and premiering sometime next year. Upon further reflection we plan to eliminate one of the survivalists from the ensemble cast, Melissa Bachman. Hunting is not the focus of the show, and we regret the misinformation that has clouded what we hope will be an exciting adventure series set in the incredible Alaskan landscape."

Bachman could not be immediately reached for comment.

The petition's author, Tim Martell of Ft. Myers, Fla., wrote: "When I was young, nothing was more exciting than hearing the magnificent sound of the trumpets of National Geographic blaring on the TV in the other room. … But lately, the famous sound of trumpets has transformed into the sound of bugles. Bugles that sound to mark the death of our precious wildlife that National Geographic once protected. Bugles that sound to mark …. a trophy hunt!"

He called Bachman a "heartless trophy hunter who has killed hundreds of animals without purpose" and urged National Geographic to "distance themselves from her."

 

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