Hunting big cats can be controversial — just ask GearJunkie Hunt & Fish Editor Rachelle Schrute.

In a recent opinion piece, Schrute took infamous big-cat hustler and CEO of Big Cat Rescue, Carole Baskin, to task over her statements and documented “fallacies” surrounding the topic.  

In her open letter, Schrute attempts to correct misunderstanding and educate others that Baskin’s statements may have misinformed in an opinion piece published by The Denver Post in October of 2023. The purpose of Baskin’s article was to “shed light” on the issues surrounding big cat hunting and to support Colorado’s ballot initiative to ban trophy hunting and trapping of wild cats. Her arguments center around the idea that hunting mountain lions or bobcats are for trophy hunting and not for the consumption of meat.

We sit down with Schrute on The GearJunkie Podcast to digest her disagreements with Baskin and add greater context to the conversation.