Earlier this month (December 3), Ecklund shared a series of photos of himself with the dead cat on Facebook, including a shot of him cooking a stir-fry with the meat. He followed up the initial post, cracking a joke about a mountain lion cookbook.
While Ecklund captioned the original photos thanking Big Cat Adventures "for the eye opener into your world of houndsmen," many others have taken to social media to react with outrage.
Even former prime minister Stephen Harper's wife, Laureen Harper, chimed in on Twitter yesterday (December 20) — claiming that Ecklund was compensating "for something, small penis probably."
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.https://t.co/UspnQEdWdL
— Laureen Harper (@LaureenHarper) December 21, 2017
I come from a family that hunts and fishes. Learned to use every part of an animal. Killing for fun makes me sick.
— Laureen Harper (@LaureenHarper) December 21, 2017
Wasn't hacked. I was really angry that some guy flies all the way to Alberta to kill a magnificent cougar, so he can make a stir fry. https://t.co/m4skcCGjZ4
— Laureen Harper (@LaureenHarper) December 21, 2017
See some of the other reactions pouring in from Twitter below.
After surviving his battle with cancer, what's the first thing TV presenter Steve Eklund did? He Took his gun, went into the Canadian wild, and murdered a Mountain Lion... For fun. After all, what better way to celebrate life than with death pic.twitter.com/W0BTZThWQY
— Daniel Schneider (@BiologistDan) December 21, 2017
HE MUST BE SO PROUD OF HIMSELF:
— Man in Black 🏴 (@69mib) December 20, 2017
Canadian TV presenter & hunting enthusiast, Steve Ecklund, poses with the carcass of a mountain lion he killed while hunting in the Canadian mountains. pic.twitter.com/8A1bmzwrGN
#SteveEcklund
— Warren Oakes (@VVarrenO) December 21, 2017
It's one thing to hunt for food and be humble about it. It's another thing to hunt for pleasure and brag about it on social media! You should be ashamed!
What a tragic ending for a majestic animal!https://t.co/GuJwl2fM1A
Steve Ecklund's killing of an Alberta cougar was awful but his flagrantly displaying it with the idiot grin on his face was disgusting.Creep
— carolyn parrish (@carolynhparrish) December 21, 2017
Just a stupid lump of meat posing with a dead cat. https://t.co/TtzwgTEYm5
— FuzzyWuzzy (@FuzzyWuzzyTO) December 21, 2017
Hey Steve Ecklund. 🖕🏻That was a beautiful animal you made into stir fry you ass. I hope people stop watching your show. https://t.co/CA6hWP0RbK
— Team Statler&Waldorf (@ownurshit) December 21, 2017
As the Canadian Press notes, cougar hunting is legal in Alberta from September to February for residents, and from December to February for non-residents.
