Hunting LegendsI’d rather sh*t on my hands and clap: a week-long ‘dream hunt’ alongside Donald Trump Jr. is up for auction.
How does seven days with the US president’s son, his young boy and a guide in Alaska, hunting Sitka black-tailed deer sound? Currently, bidding for the yacht-based expedition stands at $10,000 (£7,685).
The trip is being offered up to keen shooters attending a four-day annual trophy hunting convention in Reno, Nevada, organised by the Safari Club International (SCI) – it’s been described as ‘hunter’s heaven’, with 870 companies taking part.
PA ImagesA week away with Trump Jr. isn’t the only thing being auctioned off at the event. Other prizes include a 14-day trip to Namibia, an all-inclusive hunting package to Zimbabwe to shoot buffalo, giraffe and wildebeest, and a 10-day crocodile hunting expedition in South Africa.
Campaigners are expecting large profits from the auction, with estimates as high as $5 million. SCI say all proceeds from the event will go towards its ‘hunter advocacy and wildlife conservation efforts’.
The convention kicks off this week on Wednesday, February 5, with Trump Jr. – a huge fan of trophy hunting – set to give a keynote address as thousands flock in from all over the world.
The event’s description of the headline prize reads:
This year we will be featuring Donald Trump Jr, a man who needs no introduction, and whose passion for the outdoors makes him the number one ambassador for our way of life. Don Jr shares this heritage with his son and believes in handing down these lessons to young hunters. Don Jr and his son will be hosting this year’s hunt along with Keegan [the guide] in Alaska.
As well as titillating offers for hunting-lovers, The Beach Boys are also expected to perform – however, the band’s co-founder is asking people to boycott their gig.
Brian Wilson wrote in a tweet that, while there was nothing he could do to stop the concert from taking place, he’s urging people to sign a petition against the band instead. The version of The Beach Boys playing the gig does not include Wilson or co-founder Al Jardine, and is instead fronted by Wilson’s cousin and former bandmate Mike Love.
This organization supports trophy hunting, which Both Al and I are emphatically opposed to. There’s nothing we can do personally to stop the show, so please join us in signing the petition at https://t.co/vOUtJDq6t2
— Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020
His post read: ‘This organisation supports trophy hunting, which both Al and I are emphatically opposed to. There’s nothing we can do personally to stop the show, so please join us in signing the petition..’
The petition calls on people to ‘stop buying or downloading all Beach Boys music, going to Beach Boys concerts, and purchasing any Beach Boys merchandise’.
While the SCI event has garnered repeated criticism, it continues to fire back, arguing that hunting contributes to conservation efforts – even adding that Trump Jr. is an ‘accomplished conservationist’.
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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.