Jordanians decry journalist for hunting hyena cubs

Some media in Jordan have dubbed Hayam Awad the country's "first woman hunter"

A journalist has created an outcry among conservationists and animal lovers in Jordan with a video of herself hunting hyena cubs.

Hayam Awad's video has been viewed tens of thousands of times on Facebook and YouTube. In it, she crawls out of a den with two striped hyena cubs that are tied up, saying that she would remove them from the area to prevent cattle from being attacked by predators.

Some commentators praise her courage, calling her a brave woman and "a sister of men". But many have been angered by it. Hundreds of commentators on social media condemned the act and urged the authorities to take action, the Jordan Times website reports.

"Look at the extent of what people can do to gain fame and phony boasting. Leave nature alone. We have destroyed it with our ignorance," said one Twitter user.

The country's Royal Society for the Conservation of Nature said Ms Awad appeared to have infringed several laws on animal protection and expected to take action against her.

Striped hyenas are listed as "near threatened" by the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and are most at risk from persecution by people because of superstition or their perceived threat to farmers. Their body parts are also sometimes used in traditional medicine.

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