Donald Trump Jr. Is Going to Montana to Kill Pregnant Prairie Dogs

[HAB911]

Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric are known for their passion for gunning down large African animals. In 2011, Donald Trump's sons Eric and Donald Jr. went to Africa to kill wild animals. Their tour company, Hunting Legends, posted images of the pair smiling with their trophies: a leopard, bull, waterbuck, crocodile, and even one holding an amputated elephant's tail next to the animal's body.

Now, several Montana media outlets have reported that businessman Greg Gianforte, Republican nominee for Montana's House seat in the 2017 special election, announced he would take Donald Trump Jr. on a hunting excursion this weekend to shoot Black-tailed prairie dogs in Montana.

For prairie dogs, March through June is peak breeding season, which means pregnant adult females will also be at risk. This is particularly troubling because Black-tailed prairie dogs have an average of fewer than three pups per year.

These innocent creatures are shot for nothing more than target practice. In using high-powered weapons to kill prairie dogs, the animals can seem to explode or have body parts severed and sent flying.

http://www.alternet.org/environment/donald-trump-jr-going-montana-kill-pregnant-prairie-dogs

[Sculpin Beauregard]

1. Uday and Husay, the baby sociopaths.

[Buns_of_Fire]

2. The Trump Boys are good at shooting at things that don't shoot back. nt

[smirkymonkey]

3. Leopold and Loeb

Sick little sociopaths that kill for the thrill of it.

[Cooley Hurd]

6. Excellent analogy!

[KingCharlemagne]

17. No Clarence Darrow would rise to the defense of Erik and Lil Donny, though - nt

[annabanana]

4. the odious offspring on a tear. . .

killing for the fun of it..

[Arkansas Granny]

5. The thrill of the kill. I can understand hunting for something that you can eat,

but this is just slaughter.

[Buns_of_Fire]

7. I suggest that Gianforte invite DICK Cheney to go, too.

Just to give the prairie dogs a fighting chance.

[DinahMoeHum]

8. Rob Quist campaign supporters, take note. . .

. . .just sayin'. . .

http://robquist.org/

[WinkyDink]

9. How? Just..how?? Such mild, meek little beings. And how can one like seeing the gore? Very sick men.

[RKP5637]

11. They are very very sick individuals and the lust for power. History is filled with assholes like

them, odious sociopathic humans.

[Drahthaardogs]

33. Not to defend them

But I grew up on a ranch and prairie dogs can destroy millions of acres. They crop the grass very short around the town to keep them safe. We used to have pest guys poison them. Rats are cute too really. Would you tolerate a colony in your home?

The difference here is Trump boys are not ranchers so this is thrill killing for them.

[WinkyDink]

34. First time I've ever read a Straw Rat argument! And what was special about MY post that it's the

FIRST AND ONLY post you replied to?

It's not like I'm the only anti- one.

[Drahthaardogs]

35. Meek and mild little beings...

If you grew up in cattle country, you would call them vermin. Sometimes people forget that not everyone lives in the city.

Just a reminder that your perspective often depends on how you make a living. Kantian logic if you will

[hedda_foil]

10. That's even more nauseating than usual for them. See prairie dog video here.

https://m.

[Equinox Moon]

12. Horrifying

[PearliePoo2]

13. Blood-thirsty, sadistic fucks.

This sickens me that ANYONE could possibly enjoy blowing away little animals for 'sport'..

What kind of barbarian would get a thrill watching a living, breathing animal turned to hamburger just because you can do it.
If something went horribly wrong for these assholes on their prairie dog slaughter-fest, I would NOT shed a tear.

[tblue37]

27. They should invite Dick Cheney on the hunt. nt

[MineralMan]

14. Killing wild animals, small and large, is apparently a sign of manhood.

The Trump boys must need a lot of proof of that, I guess.

[blueseas]

18. Best explanation yet

Sociopath yes and lack of humanity or trying so hard to be a 'man'.

[shenmue]

15. What a piece of shit

[Kath2]

31. My sentiments.

Exactly.

[KingCharlemagne]

16. Too bad the prairie dogs can't shoot back. It would make it, let us say, a more

sporting proposition.

[2naSalit]

19. I think it would be hilarious if...

both of those asswipes stepped in some of those burrow holes and broke the crap out of their legs, like a femur and ankle break. It would be like the prairie dogs get a point for each one.

[Ms. Toad]

20. This article ignores reality for the purpose of being inflammatory

No one in ranching country would suggest there was no legitimate reason to hunt prairie dogs. Prairie dogs burrow, creating holes just the right size for cattle, or the horses herding them, to step in and snap their leg.

Management of prairie dog colonies is serious business for ranchers in areas where they are prevalent. So if you eat beef grown in prairie dog country, it is likely you have unknowingly benefitted from someone "managing" prairie dogs.

That's not to say that these odious kids are doing this for any purpose other than something perverse notion of fun - just be aware that the article is attempting to use a serious challenge to ranching to inflame feelings by falsely stating there is no legitimate reason to hunt prairie dogs.

[jehop61]

21. How about something more humane

than blowing them to pieces? Population control through food intake preventing pregnancy is done with rats in cities. 21st Century sensibilities decry just shooting creatures and upsetting ecosystems. And the picture of the President's sons killing cute little creatures and their babies is not good politically, is It?

[Ms. Toad]

23. I'm not suggesting it is the best way to manage the challenge

Merely that the article uses the urban all-small-amimals-are-cute-and-cuddly bias to inflame, that it ignores the reality of a serious challenge.

Spring, when they are pregnant, is the time for eradication-based measures. Another point of inflammatory tactics that ignore reality.

I've had plenty of discussions with relatives who have been involved in attempts to manage prairie dogs -using everything from drowning to colony relocations. I don't always agree with their methods (I frequently don't) but I would never trivialize the challenge or use it for inflammatory political rhetoric.

[HAB911]

22. You might prefer this thread:

https://www.democraticunderground.com/10028961903

[Ms. Toad]

26. That article at least acknowledges there is a purpose for killing them

Although I'm more familiar with the ranching challenge than crop damage (and none of my relatives speak gleefully about using them for target practice -at least not in my presence). They are purely a problem to be managed - and one way to manage it is to kill them.

At least the other article presents a more balanced view of the prairie dog reality.

[L. Coyote]

24. That will get them a lot of votes. Prairie dogs are hated pests in that area.

This is a smart move politically, probably win over a lot of liberal prairie dog haters.

[tblue37]

25. The endangered black foot ferret is endangered because prairie dogs are their

food source, and habitat loss and hunting are wiping out prairie dogs.

In the video above, you can see a ferret hunting inside the burrow around 1:53, right after the owl and fox.

[HoneyBadger]

28. A traditional method of eliminating prairie dogs is poison

Not very selective, and ferrets, hawks, etc are collateral damage. Shooting is considered less effective, but more humane. Yes, poison, drowning, etc kills lactating prairie dogs just like guns.

They are still pretty common west of the river, and in the parks, it is easy to get within a few feet of them.

The Native Americans guide prairie dog hunters (tourists) on reservation land, which is not ranched, and the associated spending (lodging, food, trinkets) is a good bit of income for them.

[NYETNYET]

29. Message deleted by DU the Administrators

[MFM008]

30. Why do you think

Maggot overturned the hibernating bear and wolf kill rules so you can kill them in their dens and with helicopters.
They get off on this shit. Blood turns them on.

[Gothmog]

32. Don Jr. is an idiot