Trump’s son to hunt prairie dogs

HELENA, Mont. — Donald Trump Jr. is targeting more than just Montana’s Republican voters today when he helps Greg Gianforte campaign for an open U.S. House seat.

A prairie dog hunt is also on the agenda 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?”

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 seasons. Killing them is a popular pastime among some hunters who are looking to keep their shooting skills sharp.

However, prairie dogs are listed as a species of concern by the Montana Department of Fish, Wildlife and Parks because their numbers have declined and because of threats like disease.

The Humane Society of the United States condemned Trump’s hunting plans, saying prairie dogs are an important species for the Great Plains because more than 100 other animals depend on them as food or as a provider of shelter, thanks to the burrows they dig, said Lindsey Sterling Krank, the group’s director of its Prairie Dog Coalition.

“Clearly they’ve never shot a prairie dog,” Gianforte said of critics. “They don’t know how much fun it is.”