The killing of a beloved lion named Cecil by a trophy hunting dentist from Minnesota has an outraged American public asking : What kind of monsters would kill a majestic big cat for fun?

Donald Trump was forced to weigh in on the issue this week after a gory photo of his trophy hunting sons resurfaced online, tying his family to the very practice that has sparked fierce backlash in recent days. When asked for his response at a press conference in Scotland this week, Trump was reportedly far from condemning of the fact that his sons had a hobby of killing innocent animals, too.

"My sons love to hunt," The Telegraph and The Daily Mail report Trump said, though he reportedly refused to directly address shooting endangered animals. "They are members of the NRA, very proudly. I am a big believer in the Second Amendment. But my sons are hunters, Eric is a hunter and I would say he puts it on a par with golf, if not ahead of golf. My other son, Don, is a hunter. They're great marksman, great shots, they love it. I em, like golf. I don't do that."

As benign as he makes it sound, Trump's sons are hardly run-of-the-mill hunters. The family's fortune has apparently been used to fund safaris to Africa, targeting beloved animals like elephants and leopards - hunting trips that canrange in the tens of thousands of dollars.

While the senior Trump has stated before that he's not a believer in hunting, his unwillingness to discourage the practice outright given the chance stands in contrast to the reaction of other public figures.

See below for more of The Dodo's coverage on Cecil:

Lion Killer Dentist Writes Letter To Patients About His Passion For Hunting

Jimmy Kimmel Tears Into 'A-hole' Dentist Who Killed Cecil The Lion

Lion Killer Dentist Is Having The Worst Day Ever

Cecil's Death Just Got More Depressing: His 12 Cubs Will Probably Die Now

We Can Do A Lot More To Save Lions Than Sign Petitions For Cecil