Italian politicians seek action against Trump Jr. hunting party for allegedly killing protected duck

MILAN (AP) — Italian politicians on Tuesday asked authorities to take action against a hunting party including Donald Trump Jr. that may have killed a protected species of duck near Venice.

Andrea Zanoni of the Europa Verde party in the northern Veneto region cited a video posted on the Field Ethos website for male adventurers founded by Trump. It shows Trump on a recent hunt in the wetlands in the Valle Pierimpie’ bordering the Venice Lagoon.

At one point, Trump is shown next to a dead duck that Zanoni identifies as a ruddy shelduck. The species is protected in Europe, and killing one is a criminal offense in Italy, Zanoni said.

The video picked up by Italian media does not indicate who killed the duck. It was not clear when the hunt took place, but Italian media said Trump was in Italy in December and a Christmas tree was seen.

Zanoni appealed to Veneto legislators to take action in coordination with Luana Zanella, a Greens lawmaker in Italy’s lower house, who appealed to Italy’s environment minister. Zanoni said he also sought the suspension or revocation of authorization for the Valle Pierimpie’ wildlife hunting company that led the hunt.

Hunting is strictly regulated in Italy. Non-residents are permitted to hunt only on private reserves.

A spokesman for Trump said the hunting party had permits and were hunting in a legally allowed area “where there were countless other hunting groups present.”

“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 group’s hunting dog, Don takes following all rules, regulations and conservation on his hunts very seriously and plans on fully cooperating with any investigation,” Andy Surabian, spokesman for Trump, said in a statement.

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Associated Press writer Michelle L. Price in Washington contributed to this report.