Pexels/Donald Trump Jr./InstagramVia pure ‘luck of the draw’, Donald Trump Jr. has been granted a permit to hunt wild Alaskan grizzly bears.
Every year, thousands of hunters flock to apply for the ‘coveted’ opportunity to hunt grizzlies near the Bering Sea town of Nome, in north-west Alaska’s Seward Peninsula.
The demand for licenses in the state is so fierce that periodic drawings for permits to hunt bears, caribou, moose and other animals are held in various regions. With regards to hunting bears, The First Son was one of 27 winners to be given the chance.
PexelsEddie Grasser, the wildlife conservation director for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said on Friday, February 21, that officials normally receive ‘thousands of applications’ for such licenses. Whoever wins, it’s only ever by ‘pure chance, luck of the draw’.
While the number of applications generally exceeds the number of spots available for hunts, the grizzly lottery wasn’t as full – in fact, 24 tags for hunting bears in the region reportedly went unclaimed. Trump Jr. is an avid hunter, with hunts in Alaska and Canada scheduled for later this year.
PexelsIt’s believed there are around 30,000 grizzly bears in Alaska, and while animal rights campaigners have criticised the hunts, state officials say it is essential to kill predators in the region to open up more game hunting opportunities.
Earlier this month, The Safari Club auctioned off a ‘dream hunt’ with Trump Jr., which is seven days in Alaska hunting Sitka black-tailed deer with the US president’s son, his young son and a guide.
Donald Trump Jr./InstagramThe Safari Club’s website explained:
Don Jr and his son will be hosting this year’s hunt along with Keegan in Alaska. Join them aboard Alaska’s premiere luxury hunting vessel for a seven-day Sitka black-tailed deer and sea ducks hunt along with Master Guide Keegan McCarthy. Method of take is hunters’ choice…
Each hunter can harvest two Sika black tailed deer. Come share Keegan’s [the guide] knowledge and Don Jr.’s passion to create a once-in-a-lifetime hunting experience for a new hunter.
It was offered up to keen shooters attending a four-day annual trophy hunting convention in Reno, Nevada – unsurprisingly, it nabbed a pretty neat price. On February 8, organisers confirmed the trip had been sold for a whopping $150,000.
Nothing revs my engines like the chance to go shoot wild animals and pose next to them. Just kidding – I’m not a pr*ck.
If you have a story you want to tell, send it to UNILAD via [email protected]
After graduating from Glasgow Caledonian University with an NCTJ and BCTJ-accredited Multimedia Journalism degree, Cameron ventured into the world of print journalism at The National, while also working as a freelance film journalist on the side, becoming an accredited Rotten Tomatoes critic in the process. He’s now left his Scottish homelands and took up residence at UNILAD as a journalist.