Donald Trump Jr. got approval to hunt endangered species of sheep in Mongolia only after he had killed it
Donald Trump Jr., who recently come under criticism for hunting and killing an endangered sheep in Mongolia, reportedly got the permission for the hunt after he had killed the animal.
The hunting trip in question took place this past August, according to ProPublica, and saw Trump Jr., as well as his son, hunt the argali, an endangered species whose population is quickly falling and which is the largest sheep in the world.
The hunt went down in the rocky highlands of Western Mongolia, and afterward, Trump Jr. is said to have asked local hunting guides assisting him to not dismember the animal on the spot, and instead, carry it away on an aluminum sheet to keep its fur and horns intact.
While the fur is exotic in its own right, it's the giant, curved horns that are prized possessions for many as it can grow up to six feet in length. However, to import it back to America, Trump Jr. would have had to apply for and be granted permission by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, and it is unclear if he did so.
The hunt itself was also shrouded in controversy as it was supported by government resources not just from the U.S., but from Mongolia as well, which sent security services to accompany Trump Jr. on the multiday trip.
ProPublica reported that the right to kill argali in the country is controlled by an opaque system based on money, connections, and politics and that Trump Jr. received special treatment during the summer trip.
The Mongolian government granted him permission for the hunt on September 2, after he had already left the region following his trip. And after the hunt, he privately met with the country's president Khaltmaagiin Battulga, a fact confirmed by Khuantai Khafezyn, a local government official in the region where the argali was hunted.
A spokesman for the president's son defended him and said he had purchased the seven-day Mongolian hunting trip at a National Rifle Association charity auction before Trump even announced his candidacy for the Oval Office in 2015. He added that Trump Jr. had flown commercial in and out of Mongolia.
Jandos Kontorbai Ahat, a member of the president's political party who arranged for the auction of the hunting trip, also praised Trump Jr. and said, "Don Jr. was an upstanding person, he never did anything that was unpleasant. He treated people with respect."