Austin Forsyth wants the world to know what he isn't a cold-blooded killer.
The father of two and his semi-famous wife, Joy-Anna Duggar, came under fire last week after releasing a handful of hunting photos on social media.
“It’s opening day and we’re in the stand. Hoping to see a big one!” Forsyth said in a video he shared online at the time, referencing the fact that he was anxious to attempt and murder a large deer.
Yes, murder.
What else could one call it when a couple people arm themselves with rifles and shoot a defenseless animal?
Coming from a pro-life family that very often espouses the value of, well, life, Forsyth and Duggar have faced accusations of hypocrisy after their much-publicized hunting trip.
And the couple has clearly heard these accusations.
First, Austin refreshed his Instagram account to include photos of a fresh kill, writing as a caption to these snapshots:
Thankful for these last four days and the time we got to spend with @jeffdanker and his crew!
It’s been filled with good people, great fellowship and to top it off I harvested this awesome buck!
Forsyth added the hashtags #thankyouLord #meatinthefreezer #buckfever #huntingtherut #oklahomadeer #rifleseason, and prompted quite a few responses as a result.
“What happened to THOU SHALT NOT KILL?" asked one critic, for example.
Forsyth seemed very irritated by this kind of question, replying as follows:
"God was talking about people. He commanded the Israelites to sacrifice thousands of animals. Maybe studying the Bible before you start quoting it?”
The issue for many people, however, wasn't even just that Joy-Anna and Austin went out and shot this deer.
It was their need to promote the venture on social media for millions to see.
"Why would you kill a deer and post it all over social media. You are out hunting for animals that don’t need to be hunted in the first place," wrote another user.
Once again, this viewpoint really irked Forysth.
This is what he fired back at the aforementioned individual:
"So now you are a conservationist that knows when the herd is to be thinned and when it doesn’t.
"Professionals get paid to do that kind of stuff, I’ll leave it up to them to decide."
Elsewhere, yet another critic got pretty darn personal with Austin, reacting in shock to a photo of Forsyth dragging away the corpse of his latest kill.
"You preach about god etc and then you kill a animal with gun... I'm not vegan or anything but this is just wrong," remarked a follower late last week.
Austin has not yet responded directly to this attack.
He may do so shortly, however.
But he may also be busy dealing with a marriage that could be falling apart.
Yikes, huh?!?
