This week the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill sailed through the Committee Stage in the House of Commons.
My colleague Henry Smith MP has been working closely with the Government on this Bill which proposes to ban British trophy hunters from bringing back body parts of threatened species from across the world.
Since 1980, it is estimated that British hunters have brought approximately 5,000 trophies of species listed as endangered by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, back to the UK.
The most popular animals shot by British hunters are elephants, hippos, leopards, zebras and lions in Africa. Other animals include polar bears, cheetahs, and the critically endangered black rhino.
The population of lions and elephants have fallen dramatically with elephants falling from 3 million a century ago to just 400,000 and lions going from 200,000 in the 1970s to between 10,000 to 20,000 now. Whilst not the sole factor, expert scientists say trophy hunting is a factor in this.
Finally, an opinion poll run by Survation showed that 86% of voters agreed with a ban with only 2% expressing an opposition. The Bill, which Henry has worked incredibly hard on, has been welcomed by scientists, conservation groups and African politicians too.
This is an incredibly important Bill which aims to bring us one step closer to securing enhanced protections for animals in danger and I thank Henry for his hard work on this.
Notes to Editors:
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Over 2,000 voters were asked by Survation: “To what extent do you agree or disagree with the following statement? ‘The UK Government should ban trophy hunters from bringing back trophies of hunted animals as soon as possible’. In response, 86 per cent said they agreed with only 2 per cent expressing opposition. Survation sampled 2,050 UK residents aged 18 and over between 17th – 21st February, 2022.
- IUCN: International Union for the Conservation of Nature. IUCN’s Red List of Threatened Species: www.iucnredlist.org
