Opinions were split on Instagram this week after Bethel church pastor Bill Johnson posted several pictures from a hunting trip with his daughter.

Johnson was at the 2 Brothers Whitetails hunting estate in Loranger, Louisiana, for a 'daddy/daughter date' but emotions ran high in some comments when he posted pictures of himself alongside the slain animals.

In one picture, Johnson and his daughter - worship artist Leah Valenzuela - smile as they pose next to what appears to be a dead scimitar-horned oryx.

Valenzuela is seen holding up the head of the oryx by one of its horns as she holds a hunting rifle in her other hand.  Spatterings of blood can be seen on the side of the animal and at its mouth. 

Johnson captioned the image: 'Dream come true for Leah and Me - daddy/daughter hunt. Lean healthy protein will feed her family and friends.'

Some people were upset by the image, with one Instagram user saying: 'This image is very disturbing. It seems really heartless to kill an animal and afterwards post a photo. I follow your ministry and admire you but this is gut wrenching.'

Another person wrote: 'I think this is an horrendous photo showing one of Gods beautiful animas slaughtered with two proud people [SIC]. It's bad enough that so many animals are slaughtered for humans but this photo shows pride in murder of an innocent animal.'

Others, however, defended hunting and Johnson's decision to post the photo, with one user saying: 'Hunting is not for everybody, but if you're not vegetarian you are hiring a "hit man" indirectly.'

Another reasoned: 'If God wanted us to be vegetarians he wouldn't have made animals out of meat!'

Not put off by the responses to his first photo, Johnson went on to post two more pictures with what he called the 'harvest' from the hunt.

He captioned one photo of himself holding up the antlers of a dead deer: 'Daddy/daughter date complete. The meals, trophy, photos will help this dream trip to last a lifetime.'

In the other, he wrote: 'Friends and family enjoying adventure, the outdoors, harvesting animals, and time together. So thankful to harvest this whitetail.'

Valenzuela seemed just as happy with the trip as she shared a photo of herself getting in some practice shots at a shooting range before going out on the hunt.

'Man what a day it was,' she wrote.

Bill Johnson has been unapologetic about his love for hunting in the past, telling Premier in 2015: 'I enjoy hunting and I like providing food for my table. That's something [that is] very special to me. If you eat meat you either pay someone to kill the animal or you do it yourself. Paying the rancher or the farmer to do it for you is no more moral than doing it yourself.'