Donald Trump’s sons, Donald Jr. and Eric, are clawing back at critics who claim their African safari was a canned and illegal hunt with a letter from Zimbabwe authorities clearing them of wrongdoing.
The letter from the Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority says that the “baseless allegations” are “false” and that there is no “official investigation” into the Trump expedition.
The park’s inspector general, V. Chandenga, said hunting quotas and fees are “vital” to preserve the wilderness, pay for park rangers and fund anti-poaching campaigns, according to the letter sent to the Trumps’ Wallkill, NY-based outfitters, Robert and Rosella Quartarone of Safari Specialty Importers.
The brothers were recently criticized for their hunt last year, during which they shot a crocodile, a leopard, a water buffalo and a non-ivory- bearing elephant.
The hunt took place on about 100,000 acres of unfenced and open wilderness, which have “strict quotas for game” to provide “optimal conditions for all game to survive and thrive,” says the letter dated March 27.
“The notion that this was a canned or behind a fence hunt is also absurd,” Chadenga wrote in the letter, dated March 27.
As required by local law, a South African firm handled all the required hunting permits, hired registered Zimbabwe professional hunters and ensured the hunting group was accompanied by game rangers.