Henry Smith MP has hailed his Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill passing second reading in the House of Commons (on Friday, 25th November), and is already preparing for the next stage of its progress through Parliament.
The Crawley MP’s Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill would ban British hunters from bringing ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable animals into Britain, with this important legislation being supported by the Government.
Commenting after the debate had concluded, Henry said;
“I’m pleased that my Bill to ban vile trophy hunting imports to this country will continue its parliamentary journey.
“I’m very grateful to parliamentary colleagues who ensured that the Bill passed its second reading and now goes to committee stage, where it will be debated and scrutinised further.
“This debate highlighted the strength of support for this Bill. From the minister at the dispatch box to MPs on both the government and opposition green benches, this legislation clearly has cross-party support.
“I look forward to continuing to lead it through Parliament. It’s clear to me that there are many in Crawley who want Parliament to pass this into law, and I appreciate all the messages I’ve received from people throughout our community.”
The committee stage of the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill is expected to take place in the new year.
Eduardo Gonçalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said;
“Some of the most popular animals shot by British trophy hunters are lions, leopards and elephants. Lions and leopards have both suffered declines of over 90 per cent since the 1970s. Elephant populations around Africa have just been upgraded to Endangered and Critically Endangered on the IUCN Red List. The argument by the gun lobby that ‘killing for kicks’ is in fact ‘conservation’ is clearly nonsense.
“The outcome of this debate is historic. Britain took a big step towards implementing the world’s toughest ban on so-called hunting ‘trophies’. Henry Smith MP’s Bill is a game-changer and is already encouraging other countries such as Germany to follow suit. At a time when the world’s wildlife is in crisis, this has to be good news.
“As soon as word got out of today’s events, I immediately started receiving messages of congratulations from key figures in Africa’s conservation movement. Those congratulations should be directed at Henry Smith MP, however, as well as to the Government and the official opposition, and to MPs of every single party in Parliament who have all come out in favour of the Bill.”
Speaking in support of his Bill during the debate in the House of Commons, Henry said;
“The Bill aims to ban the importation of endangered species body parts into Great Britain—to be more precise, those listed on the convention on international trade in endangered species, or CITES, in annexes A and B, whether from species in the northern hemisphere, such as polar bears, or species in the southern hemisphere, such as elephants. The territorial extent of this Bill is Great Britain, so let us be clear: this legislation, obviously, does not tell other countries what to do.”
On the impact of trophy hunting, Henry said;
“Seven years ago, Cecil the lion was infamously shot dead by an American trophy hunter in Zimbabwe. Sadly, British trophy hunters are among the world’s most active killers of endangered species. In recent years, British trophy hunters have imported thousands of body parts as macabre souvenirs back into the UK.
“According to CITES, the most popular trophies brought back from Africa into the UK are those of elephants, hippos, leopards, zebras and lions. The African forest elephant has recently been declared critically endangered by the IUCN—the International Union for Conservation of Nature, and the African savannah elephant is also declared endangered; their combined population is estimated to be approximately 400,000.
“At the beginning of the 19th century, there were as many as 20 million elephants in Africa. Trophy hunters now shoot so many elephants that, when we add the numbers that are poached, more elephants are killed each year than are born.
“Moreover, trophy hunters are shooting the biggest elephants with the biggest tusks. That is leading to artificial selection: only smaller-tusked elephants are surviving and passing on their genes. There are now many more small-tusked and tuskless adult elephants, which will find it harder to find water under dry riverbeds at times of drought, which are occurring more frequently.”
Concluding his speech, Henry said;
“The Bill is about UK import policy. It is about what we, as a sovereign nation, choose to allow through our borders. It is a Bill about Britain making a concrete contribution to tackling the global conservation crisis. A British ban on imports of hunting trophies would help to save thousands of animals that are threatened with extinction. It would make a strong statement to the international community that we must act decisively to conserve our living planet.
“To conclude, in the words of Ian Khama, the former President of Botswana who, during his term of office, ended trophy hunting in his country, ‘With the decline of wildlife worldwide, and many species approaching extinction, all caused by man, how can there be justification in trophy hunting?’
“Now, almost a quarter of a century into the 21st century, I could not agree more. Today, we can and must act.”
The Bill will deliver a 2019 Government manifesto commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from endangered animals.
This commitment was also included in the Government’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021, following the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs publishing a call for evidence and a consultation in November 2019 on the trade in hunting trophies from endangered species.
Please click here for the full text and video of Henry’s speech.
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