Colorado hunter 'tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with at least $5,000 to let him illegally kill elephants inside a national park and import the ivory tusks to the US'

  • The Colorado hunter reportedly tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with $5,000
  • He wanted officials to let him illegally kill elephants in Gonarezhou National Park
  • Prosecutors in Colorado said Hanno van Rensburg, the owner of a South African hunting company, took the Colorado hunter to the park to hunt elephants in 2015
  • The hunter shot an elephant that didn't die and the group tracked it into the park 
  • An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and hunter bribed officials to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park
  • Colorado hunter who paid van Rensburg $39,000 to guide him was not named 
  • But in April Paul Ross Jackson reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating Endangered Species Act for killing an elephant in Zimbabwe
  • The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner - H.V.R. - in Jackson's plea agreement mirror those in the indictment against van Rensburg 

A Colorado hunter tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with at least $5,000 to let him illegally kill elephants inside a national park and import the ivory tusks to the United States, prosecutors have said.

Prosecutors in Colorado said Hanno van Rensburg, the owner of a South African hunting company, took a hunting party to an area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants in 2015. 

The Colorado hunter shot one elephant that did not die. The group then tracked the animal into the national park but could not find it, according to prosecutors.

Colorado hunter, Paul Ross Jackson (pictured in 2006), allegedly tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with at least $5,000 to let him illegally kill elephants inside a national park and import the ivory tusks to the United States, prosecutors have said

Colorado hunter, Paul Ross Jackson (pictured in 2006), allegedly tried to bribe Zimbabwean officials with at least $5,000 to let him illegally kill elephants inside a national park and import the ivory tusks to the United States, prosecutors have said

Prosecutors in Colorado said Hanno van Rensburg, the owner of a South African hunting company, took a hunting party to an area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants (file image) in 2015

Prosecutors in Colorado said Hanno van Rensburg, the owner of a South African hunting company, took a hunting party to an area around Gonarezhou National Park in Zimbabwe to hunt elephants (file image) in 2015

An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. 

Zimbabwean law does not allow hunters tracking a wounded animal inside the park to hunt other wildlife. 

Someone in the group shot and killed a different elephant. Prosecutors said van Rensburg conspired with the client from Colorado to export ivory from the animal, falsely claiming that the hunter was a resident of South Africa and that the elephant was not shot inside a national park.

In 2015, US law banned importing the body parts of African elephants killed for sport in Zimbabwe. 

However, the Trump administration announced two months ago that requests to import elephant trophies would be approved on a 'case-by-case basis'.

Van Rensburg, 44, also is charged with violating a broader US law that makes it illegal to transport or sell wildlife killed in violation of any foreign law.

Officials said van Rensburg has not been arrested. An arrest warrant filed with the court orders 'any authorized law enforcement officer' to take him into custody. The charges include wire fraud, conspiracy and violating the Endangered Species Act.

'The US Attorney's Office and our law enforcement partners work together to support global efforts to protect threatened and endangered wildlife from illegal poaching,' US Attorney for Colorado Bob Troyer said. '(Fish and Wildlife Services) and our prosecutors did an extraordinary job investigating this case.'

An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. Jackson (left) was not named in the indictment 

An indictment unsealed last week said van Rensburg and the hunter bribed government officials with at least $5,000 to let the party shoot other elephants inside the park. Jackson (left) was not named in the indictment 

But prosecutors announced in April that Jackson (left) had reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe

But prosecutors announced in April that Jackson (left) had reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe

Van Rensburg did not respond Monday to an email sent to an address listed on his company's website.

The hunter from Colorado who paid van Rensburg more than $39,000 to guide him on a hunt for elephants was not named and a spokesman for Troyer's office declined to identify the hunter.

Prosecutors announced in April, though, that Paul Ross Jackson of Evergreen had reached a plea agreement after being charged for violating the Endangered Species Act for shooting and killing an elephant in Zimbabwe.

The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner - H.V.R. - in Jackson's plea agreement mirror those in the indictment against van Rensburg.

According to the US Department of Justice, Jackson gave instructions to have the elephant exported to South Africa, where he hoped to sell in foreign commerce 26 and 27 kilogram ivory tusks. 

The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner - H.V.R. - in Jackson's plea agreement mirror those in the indictment against van Rensburg

The months, locations and initials of the hunting company owner - H.V.R. - in Jackson's plea agreement mirror those in the indictment against van Rensburg

Jackson (center), 63, was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with all documents on any hunts outside the US. He and his wife Nicole, 59, (left) have been seen posing alongside numerous animals they've killed on hunts 

Jackson (center), 63, was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with all documents on any hunts outside the US. He and his wife Nicole, 59, (left) have been seen posing alongside numerous animals they've killed on hunts 

When the government of Zimbabwe initially blocked Jackson's effort to export the elephant to South Africa, on the grounds that he lived in Colorado and not South Africa, the defendant worked with others to try to obtain documentation that he was a resident of South Africa.

Jackson, 63, who is a property investor, was ordered to pay a $25,000 fine and agreed to provide the Fish and Wildlife Service with all documents on any hunts outside the US. 

He was also ordered to transfer the elephant's tusks back to the Zimbabwean government.

Jackson and his wife Nicole, 59, have been seen posing alongside numerous animals that they have killed on different hunting trips.

One of those photos shows the couple side-by-side with a dead Central African Giant Eland. 

Another sees them smiling with the carcass of a Western Savannah Buffalo.

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