Donald Trump Jr. Accused of Killing Protected Duck in Italy

Donald Trump Jr. has been accused of killing a protected duck while on a hunt in Italy that may not have even been legal to begin with.

Italian officials began speaking out about the incident Tuesday after obtaining hunting footage produced for an outdoor lifestyle brand Trump co-founded that was taken at the Venice Lagoon.

"This is actually a rather uncommon duck for the area. Not even sure what it is in English, but incredible shoot," he can be heard saying in the video as he singles out a vibrant orange bird among the several he shot down.

Speaking with the Italian press, Andrea Zanoni, a regional councillor in Italy's Veneto region, identified the bird as the "protected" ruddy shelduck.

"It is a species protected throughout Europe by the EU Birds Directive and by Italian law, which criminalizes its killing and possession," Zanoni said, as translated into English.

There's also no possibility that Trump was legally permitted to hunt in Italy, Zanoni added.

"Like any foreigner, in Italy he was not allowed to hunt by law," Zanoni said. "In fact, in our country, only residents of one of the Italian regions can hunt. You need a hunting license issued by the police headquarters, but above all you need a hunting license issued only and exclusively to residents of one of the Italian regions -- a mandatory document where you can note the date, place of hunting and quantity of animals killed."

Zanoni wouldn't tell The New York Times how he acquired the footage, which has been reposted by The Guardian. Field Ethos, the lifestyle brand co-founded by Trump, shared a since-deleted trailer for the lagoon footage on Dec. 31, but it does not include scenes of him shooting the ruddy shelduck. It's unclear when the footage was filmed.

Zanoni shared on social media that he has reported the incident to the Venice police in charge of wildlife.

Luana Zanella, a lawmaker in Italy's parliament, echoed the outrage.

"It is morally despicable," she told the Times. "And it's a crime."

Trump is no stranger to hunting scandals. In 2019, a hunting trip he took to Mongolia to kill endangered sheep was estimated to cost American taxpayers around $75,000 in U.S. Secret Service costs -- about $60,000 more than his father's first administration had previously disclosed. Other photos surfaced during that administration that showed Donald Trump's eldest son holding a dead cheetah and a bloody, detached tail of an elephant.

During his first term, Donald Trump also reneged on his promise to uphold a ban on elephant trophy imports from Zimbabwe and Zambia.

Donald Trump Jr. did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent to him through the Trump Organization.