A duck hunting trip attended by Donald Trump Jr. is reportedly under investigation in Italy after local activists’ feathers were ruffled.
According to an Italian newspaper, the Venice Prosecutor’s Office has opened an investigation that stemmed from a legal complaint made by Green politician Andrea Zanoni.
President Trump’s son is not personally named in the complaint, Newsweek reported, but the alleged incident came to light after a video was posted by Don Jr.’s website, Field Ethos, showing a hunting trip near Venice that involved the real estate scion.
The video showed a bunch of downed birds, including one unusually colored duck that allegedly could be a Ruddy Shelduck, a rare species in Europe.
Don Jr.’s spokesperson, previously told Page Six of the hubbub: “Don and his group had all the proper permits and were hunting in a legally allowed area, where there were countless other hunting groups present.”
The rep added: “While it’s unclear whether this single duck was unintentionally shot by someone in Don’s hunting group, another hunting group or killed in a different manner and retrieved by the groups hunting dog, Don takes following all rules, regulations and conservation on his hunts very seriously and plans on fully cooperating with any investigation.”
Animal rights activist Zanoni has reportedly said: “It doesn’t matter if the duck was killed by a dog or another hunter since the law also applies to anyone found in possession of a protected species that has been hunted. And Don Jr. showed the world in the video that the duck was in his possession.”
Massimo Buconi, the president of the Italian Hunting Federation, reportedly told the Guardian: “At a glance it looks like a Ruddy Shelduck. I don’t know if it’s protected in America, but in Europe, and in Italy, it is protected. You cannot hunt it.”
Newsweek reported that the investigation is ongoing.
The hunting video showed a group of men, including Don Jr., 47, popping out in camo and firing at some ducks above.
The hunting trip apparently took place near a lagoon outside Venice, where Page Six exclusively reported Don Jr. took his girlfriend, Bettina Anderson, on an Italian getaway in December.
In 2019, Don Jr. also fired up controversy when he allegedly shot a rare species of endangered sheep in Mongolia — but he got a permit retroactively issued.
