Parks authority says Trump sons’ hunt legal
26/03/2012 00:00:00
THE national parks authority has said US property magnate Donald Trump’s
sons were licensed to hunt game on a trip two years ago, after photos of
their trophies sparked online outrage.
Trump’s sons, Donald Junior and Eric, made a hunting expedition in Zimbabwe
in 2010. Their pictures went viral on social media this month, showing them
posing next to carcasses of a leopard, an elephant, a crocodile and an array
of other animals.
The images drew condemnation on Facebook and Twitter, where their hunting
trip was slammed as unethical. Donald Trump Jr has insisted on Twitter that
he did nothing wrong.
“They were accompanied by a professional hunter, and we have done a
background check on him and his licence is still valid,” Caroline
Washaya-Moyo, spokeswoman for the parks authority said in a statement.
“Also with the Trump brothers was a ranger from the parks department who was
monitoring the hunt. The animals they hunted are available for hunting in
Zimbabwe.”
Although leopards are endangered, she said they can be hunted under strict
conditions set by the Convention for the Trade in Endangered Species.
Zimbabwe’s parks have a quota of 500 leopards that can be hunted each year,
she added.
The statement came after Johnny Rodriguez, chairman of the Zimbabwe
Conservation Task Force, said his organisation was investigating whether the
Trump brothers’ hunt was legal.
“We have people on the ground investigating. We want to find out if the
hunting was ethical,” Johnny Rodriguez said.
“There is a lot of corruption and unethical conduct going on in the safaris.
We want to find the truth and where the money generated from the hunting
went to.
“We have been told that the Trump brothers were saying they gave game meat
to locals who were starving, that’s an insult to local people.
“These people are wealthy. If they wanted to help the people of Zimbabwe,
why didn’t they build schools or something like that, than to say that they
gave meat to starving people. The area they are said to have hunted is
Matetsi and there are no people who live there.”
The trip was organised by Pretoria-based Hunting Legends International,
which specialises in big game hunts for the wealthy. The company has also
insisted that the big game hunt near Victoria Falls was done by the book.