When CBSNews aired a “60 Minutes” segment Sunday on one man’s answer to the practice of canned lion hunting, it started a conversation all over the world, and some of it went like this: “too much information.”

Some viewers expressed shock, anger and disbelief over what they described as a disgusting practice, and some said they wished CBS had given them more warning — so they could turn off their TV sets.

If you missed it, canned hunting is a tourism-related business practice all over the world. CBS shone a spotlight on South Africa, where some companies put lions in an enclosure where they can’t escape, then allow hunters to pay exorbitant fees to shoot and kill the lions for trophies.

CBSNews correspondent Clarissa Ward went to South Africa to meet Kevin Richardson, who adopted 26 lions to save them from canned hunting — what CBS calls “the sinister side” of tourism.

Richardson started a sanctuary to protect lions from a multi-million dollar industry that he was once a part of. For years, he worked at The Lion Park, one of dozens of places in South Africa where tourists, many of them Americans, pay top dollar for the privilege of petting lion cubs. The CBS report claims parks like The Lion Park breed lions constantly to ensure a supply of cubs year round, but once the lions reach maturity, they are too dangerous to be near tourists. Places like The Lion Park claim that their older cats are sent to live out the rest of their days in good homes.

The CBNNews “60 Minutes” segment shows Richardson playing with what appears to be adult male and female lions that he rescued from being shot by tourists.

Here are some comments from viewers reacting to the show:

“I really wish there would have been a warning about the graphic nature of the video shown — the killing of the lions during the canned hunts. It was disturbing and something I would never want to see,” a viewer said in the comments section on CBSNews.com.

“I hope that we don’t read about Kevin Richardson getting eaten by one of these lovely lions because we have heard so many stories like his before,” another viewer said.

“When I flew out from the U.K. last year I was taken on a trip to Lion Park. Little did I know then would happen to those adorable lion cubs. Shame on you Lion Park,” a third viewer said.

One viewer compared the people who pay to kill captive lions to serial killers.

“I consider these people to be in the same category as Jeffrey Dahmer, indeed, many of the very same traits can be found in serial murderers as hunters,” the viewer wrote. ” 1) Both take souvenirs off their victims’ bodies. 2) Both take photos and videos to relive the murder and the victims’ screams, terror, and death. 3) They both try to justify the killing in every way they can. 4) Both are sadistic, sick (expletive) who should be rounded up and executed.”

One viewer on CBSNews.com pointed out that canned hunting isn’t unique to South Africa, or confined to lions. “Captive or canned hunts are legal in 28 states in America too, so this isn’t just about people going to foreign countries to enjoy this ‘sport,'” the viewer wrote. “There are plenty of pay-to-pet-exotics exhibits in the U.S., from roadside zoos to faux sanctuaries, that keep the hunts full. The cowards kill anything from big cats to rhinos or even giraffes. I see their trophy pics on Facebook often and sign all petitions I see.”

There were other viewers who insisted CBS’s coverage was too much — and not enough.

“I always have respected 60 minutes for their reporting and truth in the news. I was very offended and shocked tonight when they reported on the killing of lions for sport. The graphic inhumane killing of the defenseless lions was too much to watch…if they are to broadcast the images of the shootings then they should show the pictures of the faceless cowardly ‘hunters’. These people are the real low lives of this story. How brave can they be to shoot a lion a cage and then hide their face….I am disgusted.”

One viewer invoked the philosophy of African medical missionary Albert Schweitzer: “The truth is people need this truth and I hope they didn’t look away,” the viewer wrote. “‘Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight’ — Albert Schweitzer.”

Some resorted to humor to deal with the truly gruesome: The Wolf of H Street ‏@jwgrigsby tweeted this: “The #LionWhisperer is probably the Whitest White dude of all time. I can’t see any Brother in history trying to pull this off.”

Guillaume Trounson ‏@TrounsonG95 tweeted that he wanted Richardson’s job. “If I could have any job in the world right now, it’s gotta be Kevin Richardsons’ job. #LionWhisperer.”

The “60 Minutes” segment also included an interview with Chris Mercer, who is working to get canned hunting banned.

Mercer co-founded the Campaign Against Canned Hunting after a career as an attorney in Zimbabwe and Botswana, according to his website. He retired in South Africa and decided to spend the rest of his life campaigning for the abolition of canned hunting through the animal advocacy organisation.

“Canned hunting only exists because of a failure of government policy, and then it is ferociously defended by wealthy vested interests,” Mercer said on his website. “Canned hunting can only be abolished by a sustained campaign to raise awareness, and to change policy. Then, an informed public must persuade U.S. and E.U. governments to ban the import of lion/predator trophies. Only that way can the supply of dollars be cut off, and the industry closed down. All sources of income need to be challenged, especially cub petting, whereby lion farmers are able to externalize the costs of rearing their living targets.”