While giraffe hunter Rebecca Francis incurs the wrath of a thousand animal lovers on Twitter – including Ricky Gervais – Kinessa Johnson is inspiring a wealth of fan support.

Why? Because while the tattooed army veteran is a hunter, it’s the animals she’s protecting, not shooting for sport.

Johnson, from Washington, poaches poachers in Africa in order to preserve endangered wildlife from becoming extinct.

She signed up to the Veterans Empowered to Protect African Wildlife (VETPAW) as an anti-poaching advisor following a tour of Afghanistan as a weapons instructor and mechanic.

“Our intention is not to harm anyone; we're here to train park rangers so they can track and detain poachers and ultimately prevent poaching,” she told 11 Alive.

“Most of the time anyone that is in a reserve with a weapon is considered a threat and can be shot if rangers feel threatened.

“Our goal is to prevent trigger pulling through strategic movements and methods of prevention.”

She is currently on ground in Arusha in Tanzania.

Unsurprisingly, her biggest supporters now include: