An NFL quarterback who killed a black bear as part of his ‘bucket list’ is being called ‘barbaric’ on social media

• An NFL quarterback is facing an online backlash after he said he hunted and killed a black bear.

• Carson Wentz wrote on Instagram that hunting a black bear was on his “bucket list.”

• Critics have since labeled the act “barbaric nonsense” and “pathetic” on social media.

An NFL quarterback who hunted a black bear in Alaska and shared photos of the kill on social media is being called “barbaric” online.

Carson Wentz, who was released by the Washington Commanders in February, shared a carousel of images from a recent hunting trip in an Instagram post on Friday.

Several photographs in the post showed the athlete smiling as he posed next to the dead animal. Wentz, 30, is wearing camouflage and holding a bow and arrow in the picture.

In the caption, he said the experience was part of his “bucket list,” and put a check mark next to it.

“Got the opportunity to spot and stalk black bear in one of our new favorite places on earth– Alaska! Incredible trip and an incredible animal,” Wentz wrote.

Black bear hunting in Alaska is legal, but “hunting licenses are required to hunt both black and brown/grizzly bears,” according to guidance shared by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

But the comments on Wentz’ post also highlighted the controversial nature of hunting.

“Incredible animal so you kill it?? Makes sense,” one user wrote.

“What is this barbaric nonsense? Unfollow this clown,” another added.

Some social-media users felt that Wentz posing with the dead bear was in particularly poor taste.

“Such an incredible animal you felt you needed to shoot it and pose with it’s corpse,” one user commented.

The Department of Fish and Game adds that “black bears are the most abundant and widely distributed of the three species of North American bears. An estimated 100,000 black bears inhabit Alaska.”

They are a species of “least concern,” according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s red list of threatened species. But some sub-species have been considered for protection as endangered species, according to the international conservation charity World Land Trust.

Representatives for Wentz did not immediately respond to a request from Insider, made via the AO1 Foundation, outside normal working hours.

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