endangered species
Don Jr. Got a Retroactive Permit from Mongolian Officials After Killing a Near-Endangered Sheep on a Recent Hunting Trip
ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Image // Dieter Hopf/Getty Images
President Donald Trump's eldest child, Donald Trump Jr., has been vocal in defense of his father's pressure on Ukrainian officials to announce an investigation into the business dealings of former Vice President Joe Biden's son Hunter's business dealings in Ukraine.
Junior insists that Burisma Holdings, the energy company on which Hunter Biden is a board member, traded the board position for influence in the White House, giving Hunter Biden special treatment because of his last name.
Speaking of special treatment...
According to a report from ProPublica's Jake Pearson Anand Tumurtogoo, Don Jr. shot and killed an argali sheep in Western Mongolia during a hunting trip this past summer.
The argali are the largest sheep in the world with majestic curved horns that sometimes grow to six feet in length. The species is considered threatened under the Endangered Species Act, and permits to hunt sheep in the region are extremely rare and little is known about the process, other than it's usually issued to those with money and connections. According to ProPublica, only three permits have been issued in the region.
Being granted that permit retroactively is even rarer.
That seems to be what happened in Don Jr.'s case however, with officials granting his permit on September 2, after he'd left the region. Notably, Junior met with Mongolia's president while on the trip, though it isn't known what they discussed.
While no pictures of Trump Jr. with the animal's body were posted, a Republican donor reportedly accompanying Trump on the Trip, Kevin Small, was pictured with an argali carcass around the same time.
Trump Jr. commented on the photo "Amazing sheep and amazing guy."
Don Jr. are often criticized for their hobby of big game hunting, and this time was no different.
Argali sheep are beautiful and deeply endangered. They live in remote western Mongolia. Don Jr. went there and sh… https://t.co/w9dM8CeT4b— Eric Umansky (@Eric Umansky) 1576066942.0
Jr. reportedly shot and killed an endangered sheep during a hunting expedition to Mongolia — and got a permit after… https://t.co/5UaSR4ZFZn— Democratic Coalition (@Democratic Coalition) 1576088826.0
Mongolia is home to an endangered species of big-horn mega-sheep known as argali, which are considered national tre… https://t.co/M4e7kTCMYf— Kenneth P. Vogel (@Kenneth P. Vogel) 1576077956.0
Jerk. https://t.co/m4kx8x06lq— Susan A. Crawford 🎄☃️🎄 (@Susan A. Crawford 🎄☃️🎄) 1576103814.0
Who could have ever guessed that the son of a vicious, vindictive, malignant narcissist and wannabe gangster would… https://t.co/TKv4IsNhmL— Eric Jones (@Eric Jones) 1576104398.0
Trump Jr.'s frequent claims that Hunter Biden got special treatment because of his last name didn't help his case either.
I guess that last name of his helps him after all https://t.co/ZYq2da0WRi— Sweetpea (@Sweetpea) 1576105520.0
Has Hunter Biden ever murdered an endangered species? Donald Trump Jr. has. @realDonaldTrump @DonaldJTrumpJr D… https://t.co/LH7wByzU0K— Dr. K 🏳️🌈 🌊 (@Dr. K 🏳️🌈 🌊) 1576103485.0
"What are the chances the Mongolian government would've done any of that to someone who wasn't the son of the Unite… https://t.co/ALgUwwKlt8— ItzLisa (@ItzLisa) 1576087396.0
The Trump administration has taken significant steps to weaken the Endangered Species Act.