Kick broadcaster Tfue has responded to backlash after he shot and killed wild boars during a live-streamed hunting trip.
On May 28, Tfue went live on on Kick from the top of a vehicle for a wild boar hunt in the Everglades, but some viewers weren’t happy with this particular broadcast.
Clips from his stream soon went viral on social media. In one, Tfue chased down a boar and shot it at near point-blank range, causing it to whimper in pain as it attempted to run away.
The streamer was able to catch up with it and fire a fatal shot, killing the pig.
Tfue shooting wild pigs on stream 💀💀💀💀 pic.twitter.com/6UtfSCbsrz
— FearBuck (@FearedBuck) May 28, 2024
“I feel bad,” he said before turning to his partner. “You want to spear him, dude? I don’t want him to suffer.”
As the clips spread online, users began to debate whether or not the broadcast was ethical.
“So f**king weird doing this on stream,” remarked Fortnite player Moneymaker.
“Why does the animal have to die?” asked another.
As the backlash mounted, Tfue directly addressed viewers’ concerns, explaining how boars in Florida are invasive and cause a negative impact on the environment.
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The Kick streamer listed off five examples, such as boars rooting into the ground and disrupting vegetation, causing crop damage, preying on native wildlife and impacting the ecosystem and competing with native species for resources.
Perhaps most troubling, however, is that boars pose a public health risk by spreading diseases that can spread to other wildlife and even domestic animals.
“Efforts to control and manage the boar population in Florida are essential to mitigate the environmental damage caused by these invasive species,” he added.
Tfue is correct in his assessment. The United States Department of Agriculture defines feral swine, also known as wild boars, as a “destructive, invasive species” that “directly impact threatened and endangered species,” causing “[habitat] destruction through their rooting, wallowing, trampling, and feeding behaviors.”
While some users like fellow streamer Asmongold sided with Tfue, saying “Anyone crying about this video is a pu**y,” not everyone is buying Tfue’s reasoning.
“Is that one them 3d printed fgc9s?” asked Hasan.
“Using the stupidest gun possible to accomplish your task and filming the animal during the unnecessarily drawn out painful death seems like the intelligent thing to do,” blasted another.
Tfue isn’t the only streamer to face criticism for hunting boars on Kick. Earlier in 2024, Natalie Reynolds came under fire when she speared a boar during a live broadcast.