Aussie 'extreme huntress' shock: 'I love animals'

Meet Donna Partiridge, Australia's own 'extreme huntress'. Photo: Supplied

For many women, the ideal date might involve a candlelit dinner or a romantic moonlit stroll along a deserted beach.

But for unassuming mother-of-two Donna Partridge, there is nothing she loves more than picking up her rifle and her bow and arrow for a day of hunting with her hubby.

'My husband Mathew is a passionate hunter and that is probably where my love for the sport also comes from,' the 35-year-old tells New Idea. 'We didn’t go out to the pub on dates very often. Instead, we'd take our bikkies and dips and go for drives to the paddocks to go hunting.'

'We spent our honeymoon in South Africa. We shot some trophies over there. I shot an impala and a blue wildebeest.'

Donna, who hails from Gloucester in NSW, is the first to agree her love of hunting has enraged many people. She readily admits she’s been called a sadist and an animal hater.

'But I try to block that out and not take those comments to heart,' she says. 'I know hunting is a very touchy subject and there is a redneck element – the weekend thrillseeker who shoots at anything – that has given hunting a bad name.

'Real hunters, the love animals more than anyone. It's extremely hard to make people understand that.

'Being from the land, I hunt to protect the agricultural industry. In Australia, we have the problem of feral animals – and feral animals cost in excess of $700 million per year to the local industry.'

To read the rest of Donna's story, pick up this week's New Idea magazine, on sale now!

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