Laureen Harper, who is the wife of former Prime Minister Stephen Harper, loves animals, specifically cats. So when she saw that Wild TV Host Steve Ecklund shot a mountain lion in Alberta and posted a photo of it, she was outraged. Harper immediately took to Twitter to vent her disgust at Ecklund’s photo. “What a creep. Chasing a cougar with dogs until they are exhausted then shooting a scared, cornered and tired animal,” Laureen wrote in her initial tweet. She continued, “Must be compensating for something, small penis probably.”
Many Canadians on Twitter were shocked at what Laureen Harper wrote. Most of the disbelief stemmed from Harper’s use of such blunt language. She received both positive and negative responses to her tweet. “[Today I learned] Laureen Harper does not mince words,” wrote Twitter user @WalterKrewec. Some Canadians on Twitter found themselves surprised that they would have something in common with a Harper. Twitter user @lelladossantos wrote “Never thought I’d agree with a member of the Harper family, but why be narrow-minded. Laureen Harper gets it just right.”
There was also some backlash to what Laureen Harper wrote. People wrote on behalf of the television host, saying Steve Ecklund shot the cougar legally. “Major disappointment with your comments. Attacking a law-abiding citizen. Too much city time maybe. Educate yourself on responsible hunting,” wrote Twitter user @CoyoteConservAB. An investigation was launched into the legality of Ecklund’s kill, but nothing was found to be illegal. Hunting cougars is legal in Northern Alberta from September 1 to the end of February.
Laureen Harper wrote to her critics that she came “from a family that hunts and fishes. Learned to use every part of an animal. Killing for fun makes me sick.” While the cougar that Steve Ecklund shot was consumed, it did not make Laureen Harper feel any better about the entire situation. One Twitter user inquired if Laureen’s account had been hacked. Laureen Harper wrote back “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.”
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