Tag: Donald Trump Jr.

Donald Trump Jr. was a speaker at the February 5 to 8 convention in Reno

Humane Society International / United States

WASHINGTON — An undercover investigation last week by the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International exposed exhibitors peddling wild animal products at the Safari Club International convention in Reno, Nevada. Items found for sale include belts and boots made of elephants, hippos and stingrays, which likely violate Nevada’s wildlife trafficking law.

Among the other items for sale were boots made of giraffe skin ($1,390) and kangaroo skin ($1,080), and trips to hunt Asiatic black bears, giraffes, elephants, lions, hippos and more. One outfitter said hunting a giraffe costs “only” $1,200 because they have “too many giraffes” and need to “get rid of the animals.”

For the second year in a row, the investigator found “canned” lion hunts for sale, where customers pay to shoot a captive-bred lion, violating SCI’s own ban that it implemented in February 2018. In his sales pitch, one vendor bragged that his safari company holds five of the top 10 lions ever recorded in SCI’s Record Book.

Among the featured speakers and entertainers at the convention were Donald Trump Jr. and the Beach Boys. A “dream hunt” with Donald Trump Jr. aboard a luxury yacht in Alaska to kill black-tailed deer and sea ducks was sold to two winners for auction at a total of $340,000. A taxidermy ibex mountain goat that Trump Jr. killed was on display on the convention floor.

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said, “This convention does nothing other than celebrate senseless violence towards wildlife. For far too long SCI has chosen profits and bragging rights over conservation, ethics and the law, and has been trying to convince the public that the display of thousands of dead animal trophies, parts and products is somehow beneficial to conservation. The public isn’t falling for it anymore. Wild animals are not commodities to be sold, with their deaths something to celebrate. This needs to end.”

This is not the first time that vendors at SCI’s convention defied local authorities. Last year a dozen vendors were found selling illegal wildlife products in potential violation of the state law. HSUS and HSI have submitted evidence of the violations of state law to local enforcement authorities.

Jeff Flocken, president of Humane Society International, said, “No animals are off limit to trophy hunters. From shooting giraffes, hyenas, zebras, elephants, hippopotamus to primates and lions, the trophy hunting industry reveals its true nature – one that is motivated by the thrill to kill, and not by conservation.”

Hunting trips for sale at the convention included:

  • A $350,000 hunt for a critically endangered black rhino in Namibia.
  • An outfitter advertised its “Trump Special” – a $25,000 hunt for a buffalo, sable, roan and crocodile.
  • Advertised as a “bargain” was a captive-bred lion hunt for $8,000 in South Africa.
  • A $6,000 hunt for any six animals that a customer can choose to kill in South Africa. The offerings were: zebras, wildebeest, warthogs, impalas, hartebeest, gemsbok, nyala and waterbuck.
  • A polar bear hunt in Canada was offered for sale for $35,000.
  • An Asiatic black bear hunt in Russia sold for $15,000.
  • A 15-day Alaska hunt to kill a brown bear, black bear, mountain goat and wolf was sold for $25,000.

The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and the Humane Society Legislative Fund are urging the public to ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deny any import request for the trophy of a rare argali sheep that Trump Jr. killed in Mongolia last year.

“No one is above the law—not these outfitters, not the wealthy elite, and not our agencies. Shooting ESA listed species does not enhance their survival and it’s time we make that irrevocably clear,” said Sara Amundson, president of the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “We are fighting for strong legislation that puts an end to our country’s significant contribution to this inhumane practice based on vanity and colonialist fantasies.”

Additionally the organizations are urging the public to ask their members of U.S. Congress to support H.R. 4804, the Prohibiting Threatened and Endangered Creature Trophies Act (ProTECT Act) and H.R.2245 the Conserving Ecosystems by Ceasing the Importation of Large Animal Trophies Act (CECIL Act), which would significantly withdraw the U.S.’s prominent role in global trophy hunting of imperiled species.

Investigation Report here.

Photos/video for download from the 2020 investigation.  

Soundbites on YouTube. 

B-roll on YouTube.

 

Media contacts:

The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society Legislative Fund:

Rodi Rosensweig, 203-270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Humane Society International:

Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337, nhwa@hsi.org

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Founded in 1954, the Humane Society of the United States and its affiliates around the globe fight the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Together with millions of supporters, the HSUS takes on puppy mills, factory farms, trophy hunts, animal testing and other cruel industries, and together with its affiliates, rescues and provides direct care for over 100,000 animals every year. The HSUS works on reforming corporate policy, improving and enforcing laws and elevating public awareness on animal issues. More at humanesociety.org.   Subscribe to Kitty Block’s blog, A Humane World. Follow the HSUS Media Relations department on Twitter. Read the award-winning All Animals magazine. Listen to the Humane Voices Podcast. 

 

Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at hsi.org.

 

The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. Visit us on all our channels: on the web at hslf.org, on our blog at animalsandpolitics.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/humanelegislation and on Twitter at twitter.com/HSLegFund.

Humane Society International / United States

Video screen grabs from an undercover investigation at Safari Club International’s annual hunter’s convention in Las Vegas.

WASHINGTON — Thousands of trophy hunters from around the world will gather next week in Reno, Nevada (February 5 through 8), for Safari Club International’s annual convention, which will feature approximately 870 exhibitors showcasing and selling trophy hunting opportunities and wildlife parts and products – from animal heads to hides. In addition, trophy hunter Donald Trump Jr. is scheduled to speak at the event on February 8.

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said, “This annual event is the largest meeting in the world of people who celebrate the senseless killing, buying and selling of dead animals for bragging rights. As our planet suffers an extinction crisis, it is business as usual for the trophy hunting industry and SCI, who continue to revel in spending millions of dollars every year to destroy imperiled wildlife.”

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International have analyzed the products promoted for sale and auctions of trophy hunts by exhibitors attending the upcoming 2020 convention. Among those are more than 300 trophy hunts in the U.S. and abroad whose starting bids range from $1,650 to $100,000 each. These hunts will kill at least 860 animals of over 50 species, including black bears, wolves, leopards and elephants. The auctions are expected to bring in more than $5 million to SCI. One of the hunts up for bid is a black-tailed deer hunt with Donald Trump Jr. in Alaska for $17,000.

Jeff Flocken, president of Humane Society International, said, “The trophy hunting industry’s conservation claim is shattered by SCI’s promotion of and profit from killing rare and imperiled animals. Trophy hunting is unethical, ecologically devastating and inflicts tremendous cruelty on wild animals. It’s time that we move beyond a colonial pastime and celebrate wild animals in their natural environment.”

In addition to Donald Trump Jr. speaking at the event, the Beach Boys and Charlie Daniels are scheduled to perform at the convention. The group REO Speedwagon had been scheduled, but they pulled out of the event and HSUS and HSI applauds their decision.

According to reports, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi is slated to attend this year’s convention to accept an award. Last year, the government of Botswana lifted a ban on elephant hunting in the country, for which he received SCI’s praise, despite local and international backlash and opposition from elephant experts.

The Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society International are urging the public to ask the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deny any authorization for Trump Jr. to import the trophy of an Argali sheep he killed in Mongolia last year

Photos/video from the 2019 SCI convention.

 

Media contacts:

The Humane Society of the United States:

Rodi Rosensweig, 203-270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

 

Humane Society International:

Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337, nhwa@hsi.org

Donald Trump Jr. will speak at the event taking place in Nevada, USA February 5-8

Humane Society International / United Kingdom

Video screen grabs from an undercover investigation at Safari Club International’s annual hunter’s convention in Las Vegas.

LONDON — Thousands of trophy hunters from around the world will gather next week in Nevada, USA, for the world’s largest trophy hunt convention, held by Safari Club International, at which trophy hunter Donald Trump Jr. is also scheduled to speak. One of the hunts up for bid is a black-tailed deer hunt with Trump Jr. in Alaska for $17,000.

The annual convention will feature approximately 870 exhibitors selling wildlife parts from animal heads to hides, as well as trophy hunting trips to kill animals including black bears, wolves, leopards and elephants. As the UK government conducts a consultation on introducing a ban on hunting trophy imports, exhibitors at SCI will offer hunts to kill Roe and Muntjac deer in England for $7,000, red deer in Scotland for $4,200, as well as a range of animals in EU countries such as wild boar in Italy and Kri Kri ibex in Greece. Wolf hunts in Macedonia and brown bear hunts in Russia will also be sold. Additionally, 45 hunting outfitter exhibitors from Belgium, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Macedonia, Portugal, Spain and the UK will be at the convention. The SCI event takes place February 5 – 8.

Records from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species show that a staggering 2,260 trophy parts from more than 50 CITES-listed species were exported to the UK between 2008 and 2017. The top five exporting nations were South Africa, Canada, Zimbabwe, Namibia and Botswana. These UK imports included 565 trophies from African elephants, 303 from hippos and 265 from American black bears. The macabre haul included 262 ‘skins’, 249 ‘skulls’, 53 ‘feet’ and 16 ‘tails’.

Jeff Flocken, president of Humane Society International, said, “The trophy hunting industry’s conservation claim is shattered by SCI’s promotion of and profit from killing rare and imperiled animals. Trophy hunting is a colonial hangover, it’s unethical, ecologically devastating, and inflicts cruelty on wild animals. British hunters buying hunts overseas and foreign hunters buying hunts in the UK both want to be able to bring their trophies home. A comprehensive UK ban on imports and exports of hunting trophies would be a major nail in the coffin of this cruel and archaic industry.”

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States, said, “This annual event is the largest meeting in the world of people who celebrate the senseless killing, buying and selling of dead animals for bragging rights. As our planet suffers an extinction crisis, it is business as usual for the trophy hunting industry and SCI, who continue to revel in spending millions of dollars every year to destroy imperiled wildlife.” 

According to reports, Botswana President Mokgweetsi Masisi is slated to attend this year’s convention to accept an award. Last year, the government of Botswana lifted a ban on elephant hunting in the country, for which he received SCI’s praise, despite local and international backlash and opposition from elephant experts.

Photos/video from the 2019 SCI convention.

 

ENDS

 

Media contacts:

  • Humane Society International (UK): Wendy Higgins, +44 (0)7989 972 423, whiggins@hsi.org
  • The Humane Society of the United States: Rodi Rosensweig, 203-270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at hsi.org.

Humane Society International / Global

Wildlife trophies
Ton Koene/Alamy

WASHINGTON — Every year, trophy hunters kill tens of thousands of wild animals around the world for fun and bragging rights. Their gruesome quests, some of which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars, may even involve illegal activities. The trophy hunting industry marginalizes local people and exploits the corruption of government officials. Moreover, the glorification of gratuitous violence through hunters’ social media posts with images of themselves posing with animals they’ve slain belies their conservation claims.

The Humane Society of the United States, Humane Society International and Humane Society Legislative Fund highlight here the “Terrible Ten Trophy Hunting Stories of 2019.”

Both Safari Club International, a primary defender of trophy hunting worldwide, and Donald Trump, Jr., a headliner at SCI’s February 2020 annual convention, made the list.

  1. At Safari Club International’s annual trophy hunting convention in January 2019 in Nevada, an undercover investigation by HSUS and HSI found vendors peddling captive-bred lion hunts in contravention of SCI’s own policies. Some vendors offered for sale the body parts and products of imperiled species such as elephants and hippos, in apparent violation of Nevada state wildlife trafficking laws.
  2. In February, Pakistanis reacted with indignation when a video and photos emerged showing an American trophy hunter from Texas, smiling alongside the  markhor he paid $110,000 to kill in Pakistan. This imperiled species of mountain goat is Pakistan’s national animal.
  3. A 2011 video featuring an American trophy hunter from Illinois sneaking up on and killing a sleeping lion in Zimbabwe, surfaced in March 2019. The video shows the man receiving congratulations from his companions as the wounded lion writhed in pain on the ground.
  4. A trophy hunter covered in blood posed with the mountain lion she had just killed in Colorado.
  5. South African authorities discovered 108 lions suffering in terrible conditions at a captive-breeding facility that supplies lions for canned hunts in May.
  6. An American trophy hunter from Kentucky who widely shared photos of a giraffe she had killed in 2018 re-ignited controversy and headlines in June 2019, when she bragged about her kill and stated in an interview that the giraffe meat “tasted delicious” and the skin would make fabulous pillows. A 2018 HSUS investigation into the sale of giraffe-skin pillows and other products led New York to recently become the first state in the U.S.— and the world —to ban the trade.
  7. A Canadian couple who posted a photo of themselves in July kissing over the dead lion they’d just killed in South Africa demonstrated their remorseless killing of an animal threatened with extinction. The lion allegedly came from a captive breeding facility.
  8. In September it was reported that the Trump Administration allowed a Michigan trophy hunter to import parts of a critically endangered black rhino he paid $400,000 to kill in Namibia.
  9. In December, ProPublica released the news that Donald Trump, Jr., known for his trophy hunting, had killed an imperiled argali sheep in Mongolia without a permit earlier in the year. Trump, Jr., is the scheduled keynote speaker at the February 2020 Safari Club International convention, which will auction off a trophy hunting trip with him.
  10. Two people in charge of a hunting party that killed five elephants in Botswana  had their hunting licenses revoked by the government. Because the killing of collared animals is not permitted in Botswana, the hunters destroyed one elephant’s collar to hide the evidence of their crime.

Kitty Block, president and CEO of the Humane Society of the United States said, “Killing magnificent wild animals for fun and social media bragging is not only wrong, but a serious detriment to conservation that undermines federal and international wildlife protection measures. We must all move beyond such violence, which is driving rare and treasured species to extinction.”

The three groups encourage the public to contact their Members of Congress to support H.R. 4804, the ProTECT Act of 2019 (Prohibiting Threatened and Endangered Creature Trophies Act) which would amend the Endangered Species Act  to prohibit taking endangered or threatened species into the United States as trophies as well as the importation of any such trophies into the United States.

 

Media contacts:

The Humane Society of the United States/Humane Society Legislative Fund:

Rodi Rosensweig, 203-270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org

Humane Society International:

Nancy Hwa, 202-676-2337, nhwa@hsi.org

 

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Founded in 1954, the Humane Society of the United States and its affiliates around the globe fight the big fights to end suffering for all animals. Together with millions of supporters, the HSUS takes on puppy mills, factory farms, trophy hunts, animal testing and other cruel industries, and together with its affiliates, rescues and provides direct care for over 100,000 animals every year. The HSUS works on reforming corporate policy, improving and enforcing laws and elevating public awareness on animal issues. More at humanesociety.org.

Humane Society International and its partner organizations together constitute one of the world’s largest animal protection organizations. For more than 25 years, HSI has been working for the protection of all animals through the use of science, advocacy, education and hands on programs. Celebrating animals and confronting cruelty worldwide – on the Web at hsi.org.

The Humane Society Legislative Fund is a social welfare organization incorporated under section 501(c)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code and formed in 2004 as a separate lobbying affiliate of The Humane Society of the United States. The HSLF works to pass animal protection laws at the state and federal level, to educate the public about animal protection issues, and to support humane candidates for office. Visit us on all our channels: on the web at hslf.org, on our blog at animalsandpolitics.com, on Facebook at facebook.com/humanelegislation and on Twitter at twitter.com/HSLegFund.

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