Photo: Facebook - Candace Knudsen

An RCMP officer in 100 Mile House is hoping to be named the most extreme female hunter in the world, facing competition from Africa, Australia and America.

Candace Knudsen, 27, has been hunting for as long as she can remember. She grew up in Hagensborg, B.C, a small town just east of Bella Coola.

The town is surrounded by woods, and some of her fondest early memories come from hunting, fishing and camping trips with her parents and brother.

Hunting continues to be a huge part of Knudsen’s life today, prompting her entry into the Extreme Huntress competition.

Knudsen was chosen as one of the top 21 finalists based on an essay she submitted.

Six of the top 21 women are from Canada.

For the month of May, the public has been voting on the top 21, and based on the votes and their essays, the top six will be chosen in early June and flown to Texas where they will compete in a number of events.

The winner will be crowned next January.

Knudsen says the competition is a great way to encourage women to get into a sport that’s dominated by men in the media.

“The hunting channel, Wild TV, still doesn’t even really have any female shows whatsoever – I think there’s one show, so it’s a process in trying to get more people aware and more females into it,” Knudsen said.

When she first joined the RCMP, Knudsen was posted in Burnaby, which it not exactly a hunting mecca.

"When I asked for a post, I said, ‘Any northern place – just don’t send me to the Lower Mainland,'" Knudsen said. “I did my time there for four years and all the time I was looking for postings up north. I wanted to be able to hunt and fish, and I had to get out of there to do it.”

She finally found a posting in 100 Mile House, where she’s called home for the past year and a half.

“I love being outdoors, I love getting away from the noise, I love being on my own and exploring,” she said. “Going on a hunt tests you so much and you learn so much about yourself.”

She said it’s extremely rewarding once you bring an animal back home and are able to share it with family and friends.

“A deer that I had last year, we still have meat in our freezer from it,” she said. “There’s a great story behind it and it gets everyone involved. I just love it so much.”

While her sport remains controversial to some, Knudsen said those who oppose hunting are simply uneducated about it.

“They kind of judge it right away as, ‘We’re killing innocent animals,’ when that’s not what it’s about whatsoever,” Knudsen said. “We’re supporting conservation and we’re putting food on the table for our family … I think people need to be more knowledgeable about that and then they would be more accepting.”

She says while she hasn’t received any backlash for hunting, she has seen friends take heat.

“There’s a couple girls who have gotten some death threats,” she said.

While she’s never experienced that, she says she’s prepared for it if she moves forward in the competition and gains more publicity.

Votes can be cast for Knudsen on the Extreme Huntress website until the end of May. The top six finalists who will head to Texas in July will be named early June.