Trump Jr. reportedly killed endangered sheep in Mongolia without permit
Donald Trump Jr. reportedly shot and killed an endangered sheep during a hunting expedition to Mongolia — and got a permit after the fact.
The president's eldest son killed a long-horned argali sheep last summer on a trip that he bought at a National Rifle Association fundraising benefit, ProPublica reported.
Trump Jr. killed the sheep — revered as the largest species of sheep in the world — during an August trip to Mongolia.
He was only granted a permit to hunt after the killing of the endangered animal, whose numbers have plummeted in recent years amid hunting and destruction of its habitat in the rocky central Asian steppes.
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The nonprofit news organization reported Trump Jr. received special treatment from Mongolian officials, who have prioritized improving ties with the U.S. under President Donald Trump. Trump Jr. reportedly met with the young democracy's president in the capital of
Ulaanbaatar.
NEW: A remote region of Western Mongolia is home to a plummeting population of the largest sheep in the world, an endangered species beloved for its giant horns, which can run over 6ft.
— ProPublica (@propublica) December 11, 2019
On a hunting trip this August, Donald Trump Jr. shot and killed one.https://t.co/SZuVOiN96n
Here's a major Republican donor with an endangered sheep he killed in Mongolia in a photo posted around the time Donald Trump Jr. traveled to the country.
— ProPublica (@propublica) December 11, 2019
Trump also reportedly killed one of the sheep himself.
Comment: “Amazing sheep and amazing guy.”https://t.co/tgYe7EoJbt pic.twitter.com/qx6wpPO6xK
Trump Jr. dismissed questions about the trip, saying it was a personal journey.
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It's not the first time the Trump children have faced questions about hunting.
In 2012, Don Jr. and his brother Eric took part in a hunt in the southern African nation of Zimbabwe and were photographed with a slain leopard and other wild animals.
