A prolific female hunter who caused uproar after appearing on ITV’s This Morning says she’s now found love through her controversial passion.
Michaela Fialová shocked the nation when talking to Phillip Schofield and Rochelle Humes about her hobby, with viewers dubbing her a “murderer”.
But the model has since continued to pursue her pastime, pairing up with her new beau, Miroslav Trauer.
The couple, who claim they mostly take part in conservation hunting to protect wildlife, though admit they also stalk prey for food, say they frequently get death threats.
But that this is simply part of being a hunter and not something that will deter them from continuing.
“People often say we should die, give us death threats and insults, but it’s all part of it,” Michaela, from the Czech Republic, told Need To Know.
“We are both hunters, have the same beliefs and think that animals belong to nature.
“But hunting done properly helps conservation – so we’ve teamed up to help [these efforts] together.”
Conversation hunting, or wildlife management, aims to tackle animal populations to ensure they’re not overcrowded – and helps to minimise the risk of spreading diseases.
Michaela has killed many wild animals including lions, zebras, giraffes, crocodiles and impalas.
Since hooking up with Miroslav, they’ve brought down bighorn sheep, foxes and wild birds – which they use for meat.
The hunter says she draws the line at poaching – especially in South Africa – which is where she originally met her beau a few years ago.
Their passion for anti-poaching protection has not only turned into their love story but also, a training project to help patrols in the jungle.
She said: “I [met him while I] was filming some guys who are risking their lives to protect these precious wild creatures, but they had very poor equipment and training.
“I tried to help by looking for someone who could do this properly – such as those in the military.
“Miroslav, at the time, was a sergeant and had served in the jungle for three years against poachers.
“He said he would come to help me and quickly, [then] we fell in love.
“Now, we are an action couple who hunt and shoot together.
“In our free time, we go to places where rangers need to be trained by professionals to be more efficient and it’s our way to help wildlife.
“We also film a lot of survival videos [to help those in the jungle].”
Although the pair have dubbed themselves a “hunting couple” they try to keep their private life away from the limelight – rarely sharing images of themselves together.
In one rare image of the duo, they can be seen posing behind a dead fox.
Users have flocked to the comments to share their reactions with many people not approving.
“Photos of animal killing are not really in,” one person said.
Someone else commented: “Really manly of you to shoot a little fox.”
“Bad luck to kill a fox,” another person added.
“Bastardo,” one user said.
Others are more on board with the hobby.
“Good luck to the hunt! Little beast needs fox hunters. If only there were more hunters who would hunt with their brains and not with their stomachs,” someone commented.
Patrik added: “Fox is harmful […] it hunts small game and I also often a carrier of various disease…so good job.”
Michaela hunted her first deer aged 13, before developing her passion for hunting in 2013 when moving to South Africa.
She claims people have tried to “ban” her from the country over the years.
While some disagree with her killings, the model also aims to tackle population management in a bid to save animals from extinction.
The hunter believes that people are “uneducated” and urges those who call her names to do their research.
She added: “Lots of people say hunting is fun – but what about it is fun?
“Do you think that shooting, dragging, skinning, gutting and meat processing an animal is fun?
“It’s important to have the correct information about hunting.
“In South Africa, around 80% of this pays for the wild animals to be there – if they lose value, then cattle will replace them.
“This would be devastating for wildlife.”
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