A new bill proposing a ban on the import of animal hunting trophies will be introduced to the House of Commons, according to Labour MP John Spellar. If passed, the law would mean that the body parts of lions, elephants and zebras killed for sport would be prohibited from entering the UK. This is the third attempt at introducing such a ban, following a Tory manifesto commitment in 2019.
Since the 1980s, up to 25,000 animal parts have been brought into the UK as hunting trophies, with the numbers “increasing steadily” according to the database of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. Of these, around 5,000 are made up of endangered species. The all-party parliamentary group for banning trophy hunting has said that these numbers are unsustainable.
However, critics argue that paid-for hunting finances efforts to combat poaching and that UK MPs should not interfere. The High Commissioners of six African nations are opposing a UK ban on imports, as they argue that paid-for hunting funds their anti-poaching efforts. They have accused MPs of arrogance, ignorance and racism.
Despite opposition, Spellar has said that the law is “well overdue” and has been supported by the majority of Parliament and the British people. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has declined to comment on its position ahead of the debate.
Private members’ bills are introduced by backbench MPs, but if they do not have government support, they are unlikely to become law. The government first brought a ban forward as part of its Animals Abroad Bill in 2021, but ditched it in May 2022. Conservative MP Henry Smith then put forward his Hunting Trophies private members’ bill with government backing, but it also failed last November due to running out of time in the House of Lords
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