Travis Zatopek,a hunter from Texas and owner of Hacienda Wildlife Company, felt the wrath of the internet after images of him carrying his infant child on his back while holding a shotgun went viral. The images were shared on his business’s Facebook page with the caption ‘When it’s dove season, and you have baby duty.’ The photos were staged as a bit of fun, but many critics didn’t get the joke and were outraged by the hunter’s sense of humor. With the help and support of other hunting families, Travis wrote a response to his humorless critics in another Facebook post,
My wife and I would like to express our thoughts on the recent media attention of our FB post this weekend. As American citizens, we have the right to raise our children utilizing what we, as their parents, feel is right and wrong. We do not apologize for raising our girls around guns and hunting. Educating them young is a huge attribute for their future. We, as parents, promote positive family morals and values along with teaching them respect and responsibility. Unfortunately, many of the youth today are not taught this. We’ve raised every one of our girls around guns and hunting, just as we were! Hunting is not just a sport, but a way of life. We feel it is important for our girls to experience the great outdoors and wildlife versus video games and Illusive Pokemon’s. This is our choice, and we stand true to our values. I would like to thank the keyboard warriors, because for every one negative comment, five positive comments have evolved.
In regards to how our daughter was in the carrier, she is our third daughter, we know how to properly place our child in it. She was briefly placed in it for a photo opportunity and was enjoying it so much that we let her sit that way, while numerous people were watching her. As soon as she dozed off, my wife immediately took her inside.
Thank you all for the support and keep raising them right!”
