An Ohio mom has come under fire recently after revealing she frequently takes her nine-month-old baby with her on hunting trips, but despite the backlash she’s received, she says she has no plans to stop any time soon, LADBible reported.
Rebekah Stephens first fell in love with hunting after she joined her dad on a trip at age seven.
She grew up feeding on her father’s hunting spoils, and over the years her love for the pastime has only grown.
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She’s continued to actively hunt deer, turkeys, rabbits, and her biggest kill to date — a white tail deer, weighing in at over 200 pounds.
“Even at a young age I was obsessed with the outdoors and took to it even more than my brothers.”
Rebekah has said she is grateful her father introduced her to hunting at such an early age, and for thinking “girls could hunt too.”
“As a kid, I knew it simply as a way of putting food on the table,” she said. “We didn’t buy beef, we always had deer meat. As I got older, I saw it as a way to escape the outside world and relax.”
Although she became a mother to daughter Isabella in August 2018, Rebekah had no plans on abandoning her favorite activity.
In fact, she found a way to balance both her love for hunting and her new role as a mom by taking Isabella with her on hunting trips, keeping her strapped firmly to her back while she shoots and kills animals for her family.
Rather than tote a traditional hunting rifle around, Rebekah opts instead to use a bow and arrow for her kills.
So that should at least quell any fears of hot shell casings potentially flying back at the baby.
With baby Isabella in tow, the 30-year-old mom takes to the forest and shoots animals which she then uses as food for her family. She also uses the furs, antlers, feathers, and skulls for home décor pieces (wall mounts, blankets, etc.) or clothing.
She said she tries to use as much of the animal as possible. Waste not want not, I suppose.
After news of her unusual hunting company went public, Rebekah came under fire and has been accused of being a bad mom.
“Some people love it, yet others think it is too extreme and dangerous,” she said. “Some have even wished ill on my life for taking my daughter hunting.”
Those opposed to hunting as a whole have been particularly vocal in their outrage, Rebekah said.
“I get quite a few anti-hunters saying things like, ‘how would you like it if someone hunted you and your baby’ and other things along the lines of, ‘how can you teach an innocent baby such horrible things like hunting?'”
Rebekah said she tries not to let the negative comments get to her and instead focuses on the positive ones.
“Hands down the best comment was from someone who lets me hunt on my property,” she said. “He said that he thought it was great I was getting my daughter involved in the outdoors at such a young age and that it was great that I hadn’t stopped doing what I was passionate about just because I had a child.”
She said she doesn’t care about what those spewing hate say, because they don’t know her and therefore, can’t judge her.
As for Isabella, Rebekah hopes she’ll grow up to be a hunter just like her mother.
“I hope that she loves to hunt and fish as I do,” she said. “She already adores the outdoors.”
However, if little Isabella doesn’t share in her mom’s passion, Rebekah won’t be deterred and “will respect her decision.”
“There is always much respect in taking a life. If you haven’t been in my shoes and lived this lifestyle, you really can’t judge what is best.”
Rebekah defended her love for hunting and said she is providing food for herself and her family. Plus, the money she spends on her hunting license goes towards funding conservation.
She plans on continuing to hunt with baby Isabella, who even has her own hunting outfits to match her mom.
h/t: LADBible
