The Duggar family is facing backlash for their recent treatment of wildlife.
On Thursday, April 18, the official Duggar family Instagram account shared a series of photos of Jackson Duggar and his cousin Tyler, whom Duggar patriarch and matriarch Jim Bob and Michelle adopted in 2016, on a recent outside adventure: fishing.
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“There is no better way to spend an afternoon than by going fishing,” the family captioned the post, showing the boys beaming as they held up their catches. “At least according to Jackson and Tyler!
The seemingly innocent post praising their “unplugged” upbringing didn’t sit well with a handful of the Counting On family’s 1.2 million followers, who criticized their choice of outdoor fun, which they claimed was abusive.
“So it’s A-OK to kill fish,” one person wrote. “Got it.”
“God doesn’t appreciate you, killing his creatures,” another criticized.
“I wonder how God feels about his creatures being caught in their natural habitat and hung by their cheeks for sport,” another fan commented.
Not everyone was so against the seemingly innocent pastime, with many fans coming to the family’s defense.
“Omg there nothing wrong with fishing!!” one person wrote. “I can’t believe this is even an issue!!!”
“Come on people! Stop with the judgements. As you judge so shall you be judged,” another fan commented.
The post marked the second time within a week that members of the Duggar family have faced backlash for their treatment of wildlife. That same week, Jill (Duggar) Dillard was forced to speak out after her followers criticized her for killing a wasp and a bee that had made their way into her family’s home.
“I spent several minutes yesterday trying to kill a wasp that come(sic) into the house and in the meantime also killed a bee, then killed ANOTHER wasp today!” Dillard wrote. “Israel was helping protect Sam while I kept telling him how I wished [Derick Dillard] was home at that moment to kill the flying, stinging insect!! [laughing out loud]. I HATE flying critters!!! Actually, I hate almost all bugs, but especially those that can actually do some harm…or look like they could!!Who else hates these things with a vengeance?!”
Many commenters pointed out how critical bees are to the environment and that they are currently endangered.
Dillard responded to the backlash by pointing out that the pesky flying insects were “trespassing,” and that while she does attempt to “take most critters outside,” she isn’t always capable of doing so. She added that she’s not “anti-bee, just don’t like them close to me.”
