Trump Jr.'s prairie dog hunt in Montana prompts backlash
Trump Jr.'s prairie dog hunt in Montana prompts backlash, Donald Trump Jr. will be targeting more than just Montana's Republican voters on Friday and Saturday when he helps Greg Gianforte campaign for an open U.S. House seat.
A prairie dog hunt is also on the agenda for the four-city tour for President Donald Trump's son and Gianforte, a technology entrepreneur up against Democrat Rob Quist in the May 25 election for the seat vacated by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke.
"As good Montanans, we want to show good hospitality to people," Gianforte said. "What can be more fun than to spend an afternoon shooting the little rodents?"
Trump is lending Gianforte some star power to fuel his campaign after Republican congressional candidates had close calls in special elections in Kansas and Georgia. The president's son, an avid hunter and angler who last visited Montana in November, is looking to shore up support from the hunting-friendly state after his father won Montana by 20 percentage points over Democrat Hillary Clinton.
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| Trump Jr.'s prairie dog hunt in Montana prompts backlash |
Prairie dog hunting is a way for landowners to control the population of the rodents, classified as "agricultural pests" because of the damage they can do to crops. They are also a nongame species, meaning there are no hunting limits or hunting seasons. Killing them is a popular pastime among some hunters who looking to keep their shooting skills sharp during the offseason when they can't hunt wild animals like deer and elk.
