The Tories are reneging on a pledge to ban big game hunters from bringing their sick trophies home.
Boris Johnson promised the toughest laws in the world to stop hunters from importing gruesome souvenirs from their kills such as lion heads and zebra skins.
But now the PM has gone back on that by ditching the Animals Abroad Bill which would have fulfilled that pledge.
Eduardo Goncalves of the Campaign To Ban Trophy Hunting said: “It is one of the most shocking and senseless U-turns this government has ever made.
“It would condemn perhaps thousands of animals to being murdered by sadistic psychopathic Brits who get their kicks from killing them.”
Banning trophies was a key pledge in the 2019 Tory manifesto. The proposed new law was unveiled in last year’s Queen’s Speech after a Sunday People campaign.
But Westminster sources say pressure on Parliamentary time because of the war in Ukraine has scuppered the plan.
Yet the Tories have also been blocking a private Bill by Labour ’s John Spellar which would have seen hunters facing seven years jail if they were caught smuggling trophies into the country.
Mr Spellar said: “They are going to block my Bill again when it comes to the Commons once more on Friday.
“But I intend to bring it back with a vengeance in the next session of Parliament because the overwhelming majority of people want to see this vile trade stopped.”
The new law would have covered 7,000 threatened animals including reindeer, polar bears, and zebras along with the frequently killed “big five - lions, leopards, rhinos, elephants and buffalos.
The import of fur coats and shark fins would also have been banned along with French foie gras.
Mr Goncalves said: “If this turns out to be true it would be a shocking misleading of the Commons.
“Boris Johnson has repeatedly promised MPs that the bill is coming, as have his Ministers on multiple occasions.”
Polling last month showed that nine in ten Tory voters support a ban.
A Government spokesperson said: “We are committed to strengthening animal welfare standards and protections.
“Our Action Plan for Animal Welfare sets out our vision to introduce a wide range of ambitious improvements.”
