Donald Trump Jr. - the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, violated Italian and European Union environmental laws by hunting ducks near Venice in December. This is what two lawmakers from Italy's Green Party claim, Reuters reports.
Andrea Zanoni, a member of the Veneto regional assembly, and Luana Zanella, a national parliamentarian, submitted two separate parliamentary questions calling on regional and national authorities to take action against the alleged crime.
Zanoni said he had seen footage of Trump Jr. hunting in an EU Natura 2000 protected area in the Venice lagoon and standing next to a dead red herring, a protected species.
"The video shows Trump Jr. with a red herring (Tadorna ferruginea) in the foreground, a duck that is very rare across Europe and is protected under the EU Birds Directive and Italy's wildlife protection law. Killing or possessing this animal is punishable by law," Zanoni stressed.
Hunting in Italy is legal, but strictly regulated.
In the nearly 6-minute video Zanoni mentions, Trump Jr. goes duck hunting in marshy areas near Venice, the trip being promoted by Field Ethos, an outdoor activity brand he co-founded.
"A lot of ducks, teal ducks," he says in the video, describing his hunting prey. He then adds that he also caught "a rather unusual duck for the area, I'm not even sure what it's called in English," before summarizing: "a great shot."
A voiceover in the Field Ethos video states that the expedition took place on private land and that hunting there is conducted no more than once a week, with precautions taken to respect the local environment.
The video is undated, but a shorter version was posted to YouTube by Field Ethos on December 31, 2024. Italian media reported that Trump Jr. was in Venice in December with his girlfriend.
Environment Minister Gilberto Picheto Frattini said he had been waiting for a report on the alleged incident after learning about it through press reports.