Trump brothers Donald Trump Jr. and his brother Eric are currently under investigation by a Zimbabwe group for their hunting trip in Zimbabwe in 2010, with photos of dead animals that clearly sparked outrage online.

According to reports, the said Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force is investigating whether the hunting trip of the Trump brothers was legal. As previous reports have stated, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric made a hunting expedition in Zimbabwe in August of 2010. The two posted pictures online, which clearly went viral in various media outlets this month. The controversial photos show them posing next to cadavers of a leopard, an elephant, a crocodile and an array of other animals. Such images instantly drew denouncement on Facebook and Twitter, where their hunting trip was branded as unethical. Donald Trump Jr., however, has insisted on Twitter that he did nothing wrong.

Johnny Rodriguez, chairman of the Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force told AFP that most of the professional hunt guides register with his organization or with the government-run Zimbabwe Parks and Wildlife Management Authority. Rodriguez said his organization does not have a record of the hunting trip of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump.

“We have people on the ground investigating. We want to find out if the hunting was ethical. There is a lot of corruption and unethical conduct going on in the safaris. We want to find the truth and where the money generated from the hunting went to,” Rodriguez said.

“We have been told that the Trump brothers were saying they gave game meat to locals who were starving, that’s an insult to local people. These people are wealthy. If they wanted to help the people of Zimbabwe, why didn’t they build schools or something like that, than to say that they gave meat to starving people. The area they are said to have hunted is Matetsi and there are no people who live there,” he continued.

The said hunting trip by Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump was organized by Pretoria-based Hunting Legends International, which specializes in big game hunts for the rich people. The company insisted that the hunt near the world-renowned Victoria Falls was completely legal, and has kept pictures of the Trump brothers with their kills on its website.

“The entire hunt was done strictly according to the laws of the Department of Nature Conservation in Zimbabwe and, as is custom in these government-controlled areas, a staff member of the department escorted the hunt at all times. The hunt was entirely legal and ethically conducted as prescribed by the industry norms and regulations,” it said. “None of the animals hunted were on the endangered species list and are plentiful in the area the hunt was conducted on,” it said in a statement on its website.

The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force is currently investigating whether the license and trophy fees were paid and if the South African firm had been cleared by Zimbabwe wildlife authorities to operate.

Donald Trump Jr. tweeted after the photos became public, saying, “I’m a hunter, for that I make no apologies … I can assure you it was not wasteful … the villagers were so happy for the meat which they don’t often get to eat. Very grateful.”

In light of the photos posted by Donald Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric Trump, during their hunting and animal-killing in Africa last year, another animal group named In Defense of Animals was totally outraged.

The photos appeared on the Internet Monday, with one picture in particular showing Donald Trump Jr. standing next to a dead elephant, holding up its cut-off tail.

“Would any intelligent person feel moved to murder a magnificent elephant, then further insult and desecrate by hacking off his or her tail as an additional gesture of dominance?” Jack Carone from In Defense of Animals said.

Carone added, “Privilege has clearly not bought them the sensitivity or wisdom to view the world as anything but their personal playground, including the imagined entitlement to end the lives of sensitive and social animals for mere amusement.”

“This is truly a pitiful testimony to their lack of character and compassion, at the ultimate expense of their innocent fellow Earthlings,” Jack Carone concluded.

In addition to In Defense of Animals, PETA also criticized the actions of Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, saying “Like all animals, elephants, buffalo, and crocodiles deserve better than to be killed and hacked apart for two young millionaires’ grisly photo opportunity. If the Trumps want to help villagers, they have plenty of resources at their disposal.”

As previous reports have stated, Donald Trump Jr. and brother Eric went to Africa and killed several animals. Trump Jr. defended their actions and said that they didn’t killed the animals just for “fun,” but rather, to feed the local villagers.

TMZ has other pictures from the hunting trip, including Donald and Eric posing with a crocodile hanging on a tree as well as a dead kudu, civet cat, buffalo, and waterbuck. The Donald’s thoughts on the kiddos? “My sons love hunting,” business magnate Donald Trump Sr. told TMZ. “They’re hunters and they’ve become good at it. I am not a believer in hunting and I’m surprised they like it. I know that anything they did was 100% OK in terms of the hunting community.”

Donald Trump Jr., son of business magnate and TV personality, Donald Trump Sr., admits to killing a number of wild animals from the African safari together with his brother, Eric. Reports say Trump Jr. is not ashamed of what he did, arguing that all of his kills were used to feed the local villagers.

The Trump family is holding their ground in the face of harsh criticism from PETA and the Twitterverse in response to newly released photos from an African safari the brothers went on last year—during which they hunted and killed wild animals, including an elephant.

“If the young Trumps are looking for a thrill, perhaps they should consider skydiving, bungee jumping, or even following in their anti-hunting father’s footsteps and taking down competing businesses—not wild animals,” PETA said in a statement.

Donald Trump Jr., on the other hand, defended their actions of killing the animals. He took it to Twitter, writing, “I have no shame about [the pics]. I HUNT & EAT game … I’m a hunter, for that I make no apologies.” Trump Jr. continued, “I can assure you it was not wasteful … the villagers were so happy for the meat which they don’t often get to eat. Very grateful. These are not endangered animals as an fyi.”

In another statement to E! News, Donald Trump Jr. and brother Eric said, “We are both avid outdoorsmen and were brought up hunting and fishing with our Grandfather who taught us that nothing should ever be taken for granted or wasted.”

“We have the utmost respect for nature and have always hunted in accordance with local laws and regulations. In addition, all meat was donated to local villagers who were incredibly grateful. We love traveling and being in the woods—at the end of the day, we are outdoorsmen at heart.”

PETA, however, argued: “Like all animals, elephants, buffalo, and crocodiles deserve better than to be killed and hacked apart for two young millionaires’ grisly photo opportunity. If the Trumps want to help villagers, they have plenty of resources at their disposal.”

When pointedly questioned by multiple people on Twitter, Donald Trump Jr. insisted that he wouldn’t have just killed the animals for sport.

“As a hunter I love wildlife too,” Donald Trump Jr. tweeted in response to a question from E! News about the protests over his killing of animals. “And btw I bet the money I spend on license fees that goes back to the wild animals is a lot more than the antis give for sure,” Trump Jr. continued.