Donald Trump Jr killed an Altai argali, a large wild sheep, during a hunting trip in western Mongolia in late August, according to a guide quoted by the Financial Times in a report published October 27, 2026. By the FT’s count, the president’s eldest son had already taken a minimum of two others there since 2019. Below is what is on the public record about each Trump Jr argali hunt, and where the record runs out.
Where it stands: By October 28, the 2026 kill still rested on one guide cited by the FT, and other outlets had not independently confirmed it. No Mongolian hunting permit or US import record for that animal had been reported. Of the hunts the FT counts, only the 2019 one has been documented by other reporting.
Trump Jr’s spokesperson told the FT that he has “a personal friendship, not a business relationship” with Umar Kremlev, president of the International Boxing Association (IBA), who the FT says spent two days at the same camp. According to the spokesperson, a friend the two men share from hunting circles first put them in touch. Neither Kremlev nor his travel companion, Arthur Martirosov, whom the paper describes as a Russian businessman, replied to the FT.
What did the FT report about the 2026 Trump Jr argali hunt?
The FT reported that one Altai argali was killed by Trump Jr during the trip, and it sourced that to a guide it did not name. That is the whole basis for the 2026 kill.
The FT described the animal as “an endangered sheep prized for its huge horns.” That is the paper’s wording, not an official category; the section below sets out how the formal lists rank it.
According to the FT, Trump Jr then spent roughly another week in the region, moving on to Bayan-Ölgii province to hunt Altai ibex, a wild goat the paper called “less-endangered.” The Mammal Diversity Database gives the ibex’s IUCN rating as Near Threatened, and the ibex is not among the species listed under the US Endangered Species Act.
The spokesperson framed the trip as a shared hobby. “It shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone that they went hunting together earlier this year,” the spokesperson told the FT. For the trip itself, see our account of the FT’s Mongolia report.
What happened on Trump Jr’s 2019 argali hunt?
In December 2019, ProPublica reported that Trump Jr shot an argali in western Mongolia that August, and that Mongolia issued his permit only after he had left the hunting area. The permit was dated Sept. 2, ProPublica said.
“It’s unusual for permits to be issued after a hunter’s stay. It was one of only three permits to be issued in that hunting region, local records show,” ProPublica wrote.
The same report said Trump Jr met privately with Mongolia’s then-president, Khaltmaagiin Battulga, in Ulaanbaatar before flying home. “It isn’t clear what was discussed,” ProPublica wrote, adding that Trump Jr would not answer questions about it. Battulga is a different man from the current president, Ukhnaagiin Khurelsukh, whom the FT says Trump Jr dined with in 2026.
A spokesman for Trump Jr said at the time that it was a purely personal trip, bought years earlier at a National Rifle Association charity auction, and that the permits came through an outfitter, “as is standard in the industry.”
After a conservation nonprofit complained, the US Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) said in an email, reported by CQ Roll Call, that it was “in the process of reviewing this matter.” It then said that “there is currently no basis for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to look further into this allegation,” The Hill reported. As of October 28, no US agency had been reported to have found a violation connected to the 2019 or 2026 hunts.
What is known about the 2022 ‘Lost in Mongolia’ film?
Very little. The FT ran a still from a 2022 short film by Field Ethos, called “Lost in Mongolia,” and its caption said the film shows Trump Jr shooting an Altai argali “on a previous trip.”
The caption does not say when that earlier hunt took place, and the FT gave no release details or description of the film beyond it. That matters for counting: ProPublica documents one argali, from 2019, and nothing public dates or describes any other. The FT’s figure of “at least two other argali” since 2019 is the paper’s own claim.
Is the argali endangered? What the official lists say
Not on the global Red List. The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), which keeps the Red List of threatened species, classifies argali as Near Threatened, one step below Vulnerable.
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A 2024 report for the UN’s Convention on Migratory Species (CMS) quotes the 2020 IUCN assessment as finding the decline was “making the species close to qualifying for Vulnerable under criterion A2de.” The same report identifies the Altai argali as the subspecies Ovis ammon ammon.
Under the US Endangered Species Act (ESA), argali in Mongolia, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan are listed as threatened, a lower tier than endangered; argali in the rest of their range are listed as endangered. Mongolia’s own 2009 national assessment does list the animal as “Endangered,” the CMS report says, which is one official basis for the word.
| Who classifies it | Argali status | Where it comes from |
|---|---|---|
| IUCN Red List (global) | Near Threatened | 2020 assessment, via UN CMS |
| US Endangered Species Act, Mongolia | Threatened | 50 CFR 17.11 |
| US Endangered Species Act, elsewhere | Endangered | 50 CFR 17.11 |
| CITES trade treaty | Appendix II | UN CMS report |
| Mongolia national assessment | Endangered | 2009 review, via UN CMS |
| Financial Times | “endangered” | Its own description |
CITES, the treaty that governs international wildlife trade, lists the argali in Appendix II, which permits regulated trade. Two other subspecies are in the stricter Appendix I. For how those rules apply to a hunter bringing horns home, see our explainer on argali trophy import law.
Did any argali trophy reach the United States?
No public record answers that for either hunt. No published record shows whether a US import permit was sought, granted or refused for the 2019 animal, and nothing at all has been reported about the 2026 one.
ProPublica reported in 2019 that bringing the horns and hide into the country would have required FWS permission, and that an agency spokeswoman would not say whether Trump Jr had applied. A week later, CQ Roll Call reported that his spokesperson declined to say whether any argali parts had been imported.
How many argali does Mongolia have, and how are hunts allotted?
The most recent national count cited in 2019 put Mongolia’s argali at about 18,000. Amgalanbaatar Sukh, who runs an argali research center there, gave ProPublica two data points: 50,000 animals in 1985, and 18,000 by the 2009 survey.
Foreign hunters need one of a limited number of quota permits. ProPublica reported that Mongolia allotted 86 argali permits for 2019, split among hunting regions, for a season running from July 1 to Sept. 30, and that hunters’ fees are meant to fund herders, scouts and population surveys.
Sukh, the scientist, told ProPublica that year that he had never received government money to carry out those surveys.
Frequently Asked Questions
Did Donald Trump Jr kill an argali in Mongolia in 2026?
A guide quoted by the Financial Times said he killed one Altai argali during his trip to western Mongolia in late summer 2026. As of October 28 that account rested on the one guide, and no permit or trophy record for the animal had been reported.
How many argali has Trump Jr shot?
Besides the 2026 animal, the FT counts at least two more Mongolian argali since 2019. Only the August 2019 kill is documented in other reporting, by ProPublica. An FT photo caption says a 2022 Field Ethos film shows him shooting one on an earlier, undated trip.
Does the official record call the Altai argali endangered?
Not on the IUCN Red List, which rates argali Near Threatened. Under US law, Mongolian argali carry the lower threatened label. Mongolia’s 2009 national assessment calls it Endangered, and the FT described it as endangered.
Was Trump Jr’s 2019 argali permit legal?
ProPublica reported that Mongolia issued the permit retroactively, after he left the region. The US Fish and Wildlife Service said it had no basis to look further, and his spokesman said permits were obtained through an outfitter. No agency had found a violation as of October 28.
Did Trump Jr bring an argali trophy into the US?
That is not publicly known. No source reports whether a US import permit was issued or refused for the 2019 animal, and nothing has been reported about the 2026 one.
Sources
- Inside Donald Trump Jr’s Mongolian hunting trip with a Kremlin-linked businessman — Financial Times, October 27, 2026
- Donald Trump Jr. Went to Mongolia, Got Special Treatment From the Government and Killed an Endangered Sheep — ProPublica, December 11, 2019
- Argali Overview Report (UNEP/CMS/ARG/RS1/Doc.3) — Convention on Migratory Species (UNEP/CMS), August 12, 2024
- 50 CFR 17.11: Endangered and threatened wildlife — Electronic Code of Federal Regulations, current as of October 28, 2026
- FWS: There’s ‘no basis’ to investigate Trump Jr.’s Mongolian hunting trip — The Hill, December 2019
- Agency says it will review Trump Jr.’s sheep hunt in Mongolia — CQ Roll Call, December 18, 2019
- Capra sibirica: Siberian Ibex — Mammal Diversity Database (American Society of Mammalogists), accessed October 28, 2026
This article is news reporting and analysis based on the public sources listed above, as they stood on the dates shown. Where officials, lawmakers or analysts disagree, including on whether an action is lawful, their positions are attributed to them; Donald Trump Class Action is not a court and nothing here is legal advice. Facts in a developing story can change.