https://www.propublica.org/art...-an-endangered-sheep


Link has article and photos. Also, 25 minutes of interviews.

Sounds like fake news. That article is obviously very biased.

It's a liberal rant rag - what would you expect....

https://biologicaldiversity.or...t-permit-2019-12-13/



For Immediate Release, December 13, 2019

Contact:

Tanya Sanerib, (206) 379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org

U.S. Law Enforcement Urged to Investigate Trump Jr.’s Reported Killing of Mongolian Argali Sheep Without Permit

Wildlife Agency Asked to Determine Whether Trophy Import Would Be Legal

WASHINGTON— The Center for Biological Diversity urged U.S. law enforcement officials today to investigate whether Don Trump Jr. can legally import a threatened argali sheep he killed in Mongolia last summer. According to news reports, the hunt took place, and the argali was shot, without the permit required under Mongolian law.

Today’s letter alerts the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Office of Law Enforcement to potential legal violations associated with this trophy hunt. It asks the agency’s top law-enforcement officials to ensure that any attempt to bring the animal’s horns, skin or parts as a trophy into the United States does not violate the Lacey Act, which prohibits the import of wildlife obtained in violation of another country’s laws.

“We urge you to ensure that the protections in place for argali — including from hunters and poachers — are enforced and special access is not provided for wealthy, white hunters from the West, even if their father is the U.S. president,” the letter reads.

Only after Trump Jr. had departed Mongolia — on Sept. 2, 2019 — was a permit issued for his argali hunt. It is unclear whether the issuance of a permit after the hunt and kill comports with Mongolian law.

“Don Jr.’s shooting of this rare animal was reprehensible, and Fish and Wildlife officials need to take a hard look at this disturbing hunt,” said attorney Tanya Sanerib, the Center’s international legal director. “If Mongolian law was violated when the argali was killed, then U.S. officials must ensure the poor animal doesn’t end up in the U.S. as a Trump wall hanging. The steep decline of this species is a prime example of how trophy hunting chips away at populations of highly imperiled creatures and why we need strong laws and their enforcement.”

Argali populations plummeted from an estimated 50,000 in 1985 to just 18,000 in 2009.

They are the world’s largest sheep, with curling horns growing up to 6 feet in length. Long imperiled by overhunting, the sheep are protected as threatened under the U.S. Endangered Species Act. Between 2007 and 2018, U.S. trophy hunters imported 65 argali trophies from Mongolia.

https://www.biologicaldiversit...rcement-20191213.pdf



Link to letter.

https://www.citizensforethics....nting-mongolia-cost/



December 13, 2019

CREW requested records from the Department of Homeland Security, State Department, and Department of the Interior on Donald Trump Jr.’s hunting trip in Mongolia where he killed an argali sheep, which are endangered. Specifically, CREW is interested in the trip’s cost to taxpayers, communications between Don Jr. and Mongolian officials, and whether or not there is documentation of Don Jr. obtaining licenses for importing the sheep.

On December 11, 2019, ProPublica reported that President Trump’s son, Don Jr., took a trip to Mongolia to hunt argali sheep. He was joined by five Secret Service bodyguards, the defense attache from the US embassy in Mongolia, and Republican political donor Kevin Small who also appears to have killed an argali sheep. After the hunt, Don Jr. met privately with Mongolian President Khaltmaagiin Battulga. The Mongolian government retroactively gave Don Jr. a permit to kill the sheep.

Prior to the trip, there was a White House meeting between US and Mongolian officials, and a visit to Mar-a-Lago by the Mongolian ambassador and foreign minister. Additionally, Small, the CEO of KS Industries LP, an oil and gas company, donated over $95,000 to Republican groups in the months before the trip.

The requested records from DHS would lay out the cost to taxpayers of Don Jr.’s trip. While there is nothing wrong with the son of a president receiving protection from the Secret Service, it is fair for taxpayers to have questions about the cost for certain activities, especially potentially dangerous ones that involve trophy hunting in foreign countries.

Further, the requested records from State Department would demonstrate the extent of communications between Mongolian officials and Don Jr. The public deserves to know whether Mongolia attempted to curry favor with the president’s family or if Don Jr. interacted with Battulga or Mongolian officials on a political level. Records mentioning Small would also indicate if a Republican donor was able to buy political access, which raises questions of transparency and undue industry influence.

Finally, requested records from DOI would shed light on whether or not Don Jr. received any special treatment on the process of importing the sheep carcass into the US. Don Jr. has previously discussed his desire to change the rules on trophy hunting early on in the Trump campaign. The public deserves to know if special treatment was given to Don Jr. and if the US government has advanced the trophy hunting hobby of the politically connected.

Read the requests here:

Department of Homeland Security
Department of State
Department of the Interior

Many people hunt there, so why is he being picked on?

If he has hunted without a permit, apply the Lacy Act to him.

Yawn.... just the same old shit. At least he didn't get a paid position in the Mongolian Wildlife Department.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:
Many people hunt there, so why is he being picked on?

If he has hunted without a permit, apply the Lacy Act to him.

You're assuming common sense and decency has anything to do with this. Have you followed the demise of the democratic party in the US? Trump may be an unlikeable individual but the recent behavior of the deranged left is unprecedented in its lunacy.

https://akipress.com/news:6312...inister_of_Mongolia/



'Trump Jr got permit for hunting endangered sheep lawfully' — Environmental Minister of Mongolia

AKIPRESS.COM - Minister of Environment and Tourism of Mongolia Namsrai Tserenbat told local journalists that Donald Trump Jr received license for hunting on argali in Mongolia in line with the law.

"Nothing was illegal here," he said.

On a hunting trip to Mongolia earlier this summer the US president’s son Donald Trump Jr killed a rare species of endangered sheep. Trump was accompanied by security from both the US and Mongolia on the trip.

Foreign media were actively reporting this as Trump Jr receiving a special permit for hunting illegally.

Like all the other fake news stories, this one dies when the facts are known. When will the liberal media get one right???

Oh that's right, their job is not to report the facts of the story... it's to make up the story.

https://www.rollcall.com/news/...eep-hunt-in-mongolia


Agency says it will review Trump Jr.’s sheep hunt in Mongolia

President’s son accused of illegally killed rare sheep and importing parts of the animal back to the U.S.

Posted Dec 18, 2019 11:31 AM
Jacob Holzman



The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said it will review allegations that Donald Trump Jr., may have illegally killed a rare sheep during a recent trip to Mongolia and imported parts of the animal back to the U.S.

Animal conservation activists said President Donald Trump's eldest son may have violated a federal wildlife anti-trafficking law after ProPublica reported last week that he shot and killed an argali sheep without proper permits during a personal trip in August. The Mongolian government issued a permit for hunting the sheep after the fact, and it’s unclear what happened to the animal after it was killed, according to the report.


A spokesperson for Trump Jr. on Tuesday provided a statement to CQ Roll Call denying allegations of wrongdoing related to the hunting permit. In the statement, which was also provided to ProPublica, the spokesperson said the hunting trip was purchased in 2015 at a National Rifle Association auction before his father announced his presidential campaign and all permits were secured through a third party hunting group.

“Mr. Trump paid for his trip to Mongolia on his own, flew commercial and timely applied and secured all required permits through a third party outfitter — as is standard in the industry,” the spokesperson said.

Trump Jr.’s spokesperson declined to comment on whether any argali animal parts were imported to the U.S.

The Center for Biological Diversity, in a Dec. 13 letter, asked FWS law enforcement to evaluate whether the reported hunt and retroactive permit violated any U.S. or Mongolian laws. Under the Lacey Act of 1900, it is illegal to import animal trophies in contravention with foreign laws and individuals found in violation can be subject to fines and prison time.

In its letter the group also asked if there were any permits pending to import the animal that Trump allegedly killed and noted the argali sheep population in Mongolia is protected under the Endangered Species Act and a 1975 international treaty governing wildlife trafficking.

“We urge you to ensure that the protections in place for argali — including from hunters and poachers — are enforced and special access is not provided for wealthy, white hunters from the West, even if their father is the U.S. president,” the letter reads.


FWS spokeswoman Christina Meister said in a Dec. 16 email that the agency “has received the Center for Biological Diversity’s electronic letter and is in the process of reviewing this matter.”


Separately, the Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington said it requested records on Dec. 13 from the Interior Department for all licenses to import argali sheep granted to Trump Jr. or Kevin Small, a Republican donor who was reportedly also on the trip. CREW also filed requests for information to the Department of Homeland Security and State Department related to the reported hunt, including communications between U.S. and Mongolian officials and any costs incurred to taxpayers.

https://biologicaldiversity.or...p-trophy-2019-12-19/



For Immediate Release, December 19, 2019

Contact:

Tanya Sanerib, Center for Biological Diversity, (206) 379-7363, tsanerib@biologicaldiversity.org
Rodi Rosensweig, The Humane Society of the United States, (203) 270-8929, RRosensweig@humanesociety.org
Nancy Hwa, Humane Society International, (202) 676-2337 (direct), (202) 596-0808 (cell), nhwa@hsi.org

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Urged to Reject Import of Trump Jr.’s Argali Sheep Trophy

WASHINGTON— Conservation and animal-protection organizations today sent a letter urging the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to deny an import permit for the horns, skin or other parts of a trophy-hunted argali sheep killed by Donald Trump Jr. in Mongolia.

The letter details why the U.S. Endangered Species Act, under which argali are protected, cannot be used to authorize the import. Argali are threatened by overhunting, and now climate change and habitat loss are also threats to the species. The August kill was reportedly made without the required Mongolian hunting permit. Only after Trump Jr. left Mongolia — on Sept. 2, 2019 — was a permit reportedly issued.

Today’s letter states that “issuing an import permit or other authorization to Donald Trump Jr., a well-known public figure, could set a precedent that both increases other trophy hunters’ desire for argali trophies and establishes that ‘after-the-fact’ permitting of trophy hunts is acceptable.”

“Letting Trump Jr.’s argali trophy into the U.S. would signal that wealthy Westerners can sneer at laws aimed at protecting rare animals from extinction,” said Tanya Sanerib, international legal director at the Center for Biological Diversity. “If we’re going to halt the extinction crisis, we can’t let trophy hunters pay to ignore the Endangered Species Act and kill imperiled species for fun.”

Questions remain over whether the issuance of a permit after a hunt comports with Mongolian law.

“Although President Trump has called trophy hunting a ‘horror show,’ Donald Trump Jr. continues to gallivant around the world to kill imperiled species while claiming to support wildlife conservation,” said Anna Frostic, senior vice president representing Humane Society International, the Humane Society of the United States and the Humane Society Legislative Fund. “The legality of his latest hunt in Mongolia is questionable and it would be unlawful for USFWS to authorize the import of this trophy.”

Argali are the world’s largest sheep. Their beautiful, curling horns — which reach up to six feet in length — are coveted by trophy hunters. Between 2007 and 2018, U.S. trophy hunters imported 65 argali trophies from Mongolia.

The letter was sent by the Center for Biological Diversity, Humane Society International, the Humane Society of the United States and Humane Society Legislative Fund.

https://biologicaldiversity.or...-trophy-20191219.pdf



Link to letter request of denial to import.

Of course totally ignoring the Mongolian Minister of Environment & Tourisms statements this was a legal hunt.

Facts and reality don't matter, just blindly push the anti-Trump, anti-hunting, and the anti-gun agenda.

SSDD

https://thehill.com/policy/ene...nto-trump-jr-hunt-in



FWS: There's 'no basis' to investigate Trump Jr.'s Mongolian hunting trip

BY MARTY JOHNSON - 12/19/19 06:39 PM EST 333


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) found "no basis" to investigate Donald Trump Jr.'s hunting trip to Mongolia after receiving a complaint from a nonprofit organization focused on protecting endangered species.

ProPublica first reported last week that over the summer the president's son shot and killed an argali sheep in Mongolia and then was retroactively given a hunting permit from the Mongolian government.


The Center for Biological Diversity last week sent a letter to FWS to inform the agency about "potential legal violations associated with this trophy hunt" and request an investigation.

"We urge you to ensure that the protections in place for argali — including from hunters and poachers — are enforced and special access is not provided for wealthy, white hunters from the West, even if their father is the U.S. president," the group wrote.

However, after reviewing the complaint, FWS decided that the incident didn't require further investigation.

“Based on the information we have, there is currently no basis for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look further into this allegation” a FWS official told The Hill on Thursday.



Updated: 7:45 p.m.

quote:

“Based on the information we have, there is currently no basis for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look further into this allegation” a FWS official told The Hill on Thursday.

Poor libtards must be drowning in tears.

quote:

Originally posted by Kathi:
https://thehill.com/policy/ene...nto-trump-jr-hunt-in



FWS: There's 'no basis' to investigate Trump Jr.'s Mongolian hunting trip

BY MARTY JOHNSON - 12/19/19 06:39 PM EST 333


The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) found "no basis" to investigate Donald Trump Jr.'s hunting trip to Mongolia after receiving a complaint from a nonprofit organization focused on protecting endangered species.

ProPublica first reported last week that over the summer the president's son shot and killed an argali sheep in Mongolia and then was retroactively given a hunting permit from the Mongolian government.


The Center for Biological Diversity last week sent a letter to FWS to inform the agency about "potential legal violations associated with this trophy hunt" and request an investigation.

"We urge you to ensure that the protections in place for argali — including from hunters and poachers — are enforced and special access is not provided for wealthy, white hunters from the West, even if their father is the U.S. president," the group wrote.

However, after reviewing the complaint, FWS decided that the incident didn't require further investigation.

“Based on the information we have, there is currently no basis for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look further into this allegation” a FWS official told The Hill on Thursday.



Updated: 7:45 p.m.

This Organisation is run by a stupid lawyer.

She has absolutely no life, and spends every waking hour trying her best to stop happy people doing what they enjoy!

Unfortunately, in today's political climate almost anything can be weaponized for use in the war of bullshit between the two major political parties.

This is proof. The President's son goes on a legal big game hunt, shoots a sheep, with every permission and consideration of the host country.

Obviously it's:

- An example of 'white privilege'
- abuse of power
- pandering to curry favors from the President
- a major violation of ethics
- endangering an 'endangered' species
- deviant social behaviour (hunting)
- accompanied by 'secret' talks between the hunter(s) and the president of Mongolia (ala R. Guiliani)

Yawn.