Outrage at Donald Trump’s sons’ snapshots of slaughter

THE sons of US tycoon Donald Trump have been condemned by conservationists after images of them posing with animals they shot during an African safari were posted on the internet.

The photos, which show Trump’s sons Eric and Donald Junior posing with a dead elephant, kudu, leopard and waterbuck during the trip last year, have enraged animal rights activists.

The animals were all shot on the Matetsi reserve, close to Zimbabwe’s Victoria Falls.

In one picture, Donald Jr is brandishing an elephant’s tail and a knife, while in another the brothers are shown holding a large dead leopard.

The animal rights group PETA condemned the pictures, saying: “Like all animals, elephants, buffalo, and crocodiles deserve better than to be killed and hacked apart for two young millionaires’ grisly photo opportunity. If the Trumps want to help villagers, they have plenty of resources at their disposal.”

Donald Trump Snr seemed uneasy about his sons’ behaviour. He said: “They’re hunters and they’ve become good at it. I am not a believer in hunting and I’m surprised they like it.”

Shooting big game in Africa costs wealthy hunters thousands of pounds, with the most prized target the so-called “Big Five”: leopard, lion, rhino, elephant and buffalo – four of which are endangered. Killing one of these can cost £6,300 for licences, which are meant to be strictly rationed.

The photos also provoked a storm of comments on Zimbabwe news websites, where Zimbabweans spoke of our “precious dwindling animals”.

“Our own traditional people who need crocodile skin, elephant tail, lion or leopard skin will be jailed for hunting (or) killing these animals,” wrote one man on the popular newzimbabwe.com website. “A foreigner with money can pay their way into killing our sacred animals and show off to the world.”

Donald Jr defended himself angrily on Twitter: “I didn’t give out my personal pics but I am also not going to apologize because some eco nuts want me 2,” he said in one tweet.

“In Africa most of the animals we hunted are like deer to them. They only seem exotic to us,” he said in another tweet.

The pair released a joint statement defending their actions: “We have the utmost respect for nature and have always hunted in accordance with local laws and regulations. In addition, all meat was donated to local villagers who were incredibly grateful. We love travelling and being in the woods – at the end of the day, we are outdoorsmen at heart.”

But Johnny Rodrigues, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force, said the Matetsi reserve was sparsely populated, so the meat was unlikely to benefit anyone.

“Because of the state of the country, there is also very little transparency about where the money these hunters spend goes,” he added. “If they want to help Zimbabwe, there are many better ways to do so.”