Last year it was Bob Parsons, head of the Internet domain hosting company Go Daddy, who was pictured with his grisly trophy – a dead elephant he slaughtered in Zimbabwe. (Parsons has since stepped down as CEO of the company.) This time it’s Donald Trump’s sons, Eric and Donald, Jr.

Public reaction was swift and IDA’s condemnation of the needless killings appeared in articles by TMZ and the Hollywood Gossip.

Trump, Sr., responded to his sons’ brainless exploits, stating that while he doesn’t believe in hunting his sons had become good at it and that he was sure their actions were “100% OK in terms of the hunting community.”

In fact, Trump’s sons were hunting in Zimbabwe, a highly troubled country where it is suspected that wildlife numbers are greatly exaggerated. For example, in 2009 the Zimbabwe Parks Management Authority estimated that 100,000 elephants existed in the country, however, experts say that a proper audit has not been conducted there in years; they estimate the elephant population at only 35,000 to 40,000.

Donald, Jr., has since lashed out at his critics claiming, as did Parsons, that killing threatened species helps conservation and local people. IDA suggests that if the Trump brothers and their friends had any real interest in conservation, they would open their overflowing pockets and contribute to the efforts of real conservation groups working to help people and the wildlife around them.

Elephants are among the world’s most intelligent, sensitive and social animals. Research suggests that both males and females grieve for lost relatives and associates, remembering the deaths over long periods. They are also under increasing pressure due to poaching, habitat loss and human-elephant conflict.

If you are as outraged as we are about these senseless killings, please donate to IDA’s Elephant Protection Fund and help support our work for elephants around the world.