Donald Trump Jr spent US$76,000 of American taxpayers' money so he could travel to Mongolia and kill a sheep, it has emerged.
Trump Jr, the eldest son of US President Donald Trump, is a big fan of trophy hunting. He travelled to the central Asian nation in August 2019 to hunt a rare Argali mountain sheep, USA Today reports. Argali are listed as 'near-threatened' by the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
A rep for Trump Jr told US media he paid for the trip himself, but documents released this week show it actually cost US$$76,859.36 (NZ$117,000) on top of that, paid for by taxpayers, as he took a Secret Service protection squad with him.
"These Secret Service payments show how much taxpayer money directly funded Don Jr's trip, and show that the cost was much steeper than the agency originally admitted," Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) - the watchdog which uncovered the figures - said in a report.
"As a son of the President, Donald Trump Jr is entitled to Secret Service protection and should be protected, but taxpayers deserve to know how much they are paying to facilitate his trophy hunting and interactions with major political donors and foreign leaders."
Trump Jr's rep also claimed the trip was booked in 2015 before his father became US President, though the timing - coming just a month after the Mongolian ambassador visited his father's Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida - has raised eyebrows.
Trump Jr also didn't get a permit to hunt the Argali until after he'd already left the country, USA Today reported.
CREW said the Trump family, some of which have been given roles in their patriarch's administration, take about 12 times as many trips as the Obamas ever did. Trump Jr doesn't have an official White House role, but campaigns for his father.
"This trip is just one example of the expenses the Trump family is incurring with American taxpayers, and if just one of Don Jr's trophy hunting trips cost more than US$75,000, it's staggering to think how high the total bill must be."
While the killing of threatened and endangered species outrages some animal rights activists, others say the funding it generates is essential for long-term conservation efforts. Including Trump's Jr's, Mongolia reportedly issued 86 permits to hunt Argali sheep in 2019.
