Donald Trump JR is investigated by the Italian authorities in the midst of claiming that he shot a protected duck during a hunting trip.
The office of the public prosecutor of Venice has launched a probe to determine whether Don JR, 47, illegally shot an orange Ruddy Shelduck last December, reported the local newspaper La Nuova Venezia.
The local magistrate opened the investigation on 9 February after a legal complaint by the regional green politician Andrea Zanoni and various environmental associations.
Zanoni based his complaint on a video reportedly taken during Trump's hunting trip in the Lagoon of Venice in which the first son discusses the number of ducks he shot.
At a certain moment in the video, Trump is surrounded by a series of dead birds, including an unusual amber -colored duck that he says: “is a rather unusual bird in the area. I'm not even sure what it is. '
A spokesperson for Don JR said that the first son 'takes all hunting rules and regulations very seriously' and 'is planning to collaborate completely with every investigation'.
The representative also noted that it is currently unclear whether this individual duck was accidentally killed by someone in Don's hunting party, another hunting party, or was killed in a different way and was picked up by the hunting dog of the party. '
But Zanoni told The Times that it 'does not matter' who or what the duck has killed because the 'law also applies to someone who has been found in possession of a protected species that has been hunted', adding it: “Don JR showed The world in the world video that the duck was in his possession '.
Don JR is surrounded by a series of dead birds, including an unusual amber -colored duck that he says: 'is a rather unusual bird in the area. I'm not even sure what it is'
In the almost six -minute images, Don JR from Foxhole jumps in his camouflage – equipment – shooting on the ducks with different traps from the sky
In the almost six -minute images, the Trump was shot from a foxhole – in his camouflage – equipment – shooting on the ducks with different traps from the sky.
He is accompanied by a group of half a dozen other men who enjoy their time in the swamps of Northeast Italy.
A hunt participant says: “It was a great duck with a little good food in Venice,” and ends with a shooter who said: “Don got about 50.”
Another shot in the clip shows Trump surrounded by a series of dead birds, including one Non -Geidified duck that experts claim is a Ruddy Shelduck, a rare species that is protected in Europe and is said to have a decreasing population.
The video led to controversy in Italy, with Zanoni Trump accusing it to break a number of laws in the country.
In a report by Corriere del Veneto, Zanoni claimed earlier this month that Don JR killed a protected species without a regular license and had also hunted a nature conservation area protected by the European Union.
He claimed that the video was recently filmed in the Pierimpie Valley south of the city of Venice. The area is a special nature conservation area that is protected by European regulations known as the middle lower lagoon of Venice.
Donald Trump is shown hunting with a gun on a photo posted on September 24, 2019 on Instagram with caption: Great weekend
Zanoni added: 'Like every foreigner, in Italy he was not allowed to chase. In fact, in our country only residents of one of the Italian regions can hunt. '
'You need a hunting permit issued by the police headquarters, but above all you only need a hunting permit that is issued and exclusively to residents of one of the Italian regions, a compulsory document where you can do the date, place of hunting and Quantity of animals can notice killed killed by individual species. '
Zanoni also said that he filed a complaint with the judiciary because “Veneto and Italy are not the property of the US.”
But the spokesperson for Trump, Andy Surabian, told DailyMail.com earlier that 'Don and his group had all the correct permits and hunted in a legally permitted area, where there were countless other hunting groups.
“Although it is unclear whether this single duck was unintentionally shot by someone in Don's hunting group, a different hunting group or killed in any other way and picked up by the groups hunting for a dog.”
He added that “Don takes all the rules, regulations and preservation of his yacht very seriously and plans to fully work together with any research.”
Monica Sambo, from the Democratic Party of Venice, previously told MailOnline: “If Trump's involvement is confirmed, we hope that he will be prosecuted as any other citizen.”
“What has been reported is a very serious matter, it is unacceptable that protected species are killed in the Lagune of Venice, a protected environment that must be protected,” she added.
Trump was in Venice with his old girlfriend Bettina Anderson, who placed several photos of their stay in the Lagoon City on her Instagram, including a romantic nightly gondola ride. He and Anderson are depicted on Michael Rubin's Fanatics Super Bowl party on Saturday 8 February 2025 in New Orleans
Bettina Anderson, 38, placed a flurry of snaps on her Instagram stories in December of a gun and hunting dog while participating in one of Don Jr.'s favorite activities
Trump was in Venice with his old girlfriend Bettina Anderson, who placed several photos of their stay in the Lagoon City on her Instagram, including a romantic nightly gondola ride.
In June 2020, Don JR was in the center of another hunting contamination when an investigation discovered that the businessman had shot and killed a rare Argali -Bergschapen in 2019.
At the time, the BBC reported that he only received permission for the shooting of the Mongolian government with retroactive effect.
It is unlikely that the controversy will dampen the warm relationships between President Donald Trump and the right -wing Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni of Italy.
During Trump's inauguration, Meloni was one of the handful of world leaders who attended the ceremony.
Earlier in January, Meloni visited Trump in his house in Mar-A-Lago. Trump spoke with reporters the moment Trump called his Italian counterpart “a fantastic woman” who conquers “real Europe, and everyone else.”
