FOWL PLAY

Don Jr. Accused of Illegally Hunting Protected Ducks in Italy

A criminal complaint was filed against Donald Trump Jr. for allegedly hunting without a license and killing protected waterfowl.

Donald Trump Jr. allegedly spent an Italian getaway with his new girlfriend Bettina Anderson illegally hunting protected birds in the Venice lagoon, an Italian politician said on Tuesday. In an online video from the hunting lifestyle company Field Ethos, Trump can be seen shooting waterfowl in a special conservation area of the lagoon, Veneto regional counselor Andrea Zanoni wrote on Facebook. The video was reportedly shot in December, and at one point Trump addresses the camera surrounded by dead waterfowl—including the protected ruddy shelduck. Zanoni—who is a member of the Green Party—filed a denuncia, or criminal complaint, with the forest police, he told the news agency ANSA. Killing the protected birds is a criminal violation, he said, and Trump—who was accompanied by a wildlife company—was not allowed to hunt in Italy in the first place. “Only residents of an Italian region can hunt in Italy because they must have a hunting license, which by law is issued by the region where the hunter lives,” Zanoni wrote. A local animal rights group has also filed a complaint against the company.