Match of the Day host Gary Lineker has waded into politics again…this time by urging MPs to turn up and vote on Friday to stop the import of animal parts slaughtered abroad.
Alongside Joanna Lumley, Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Dr Jane Goodall, Sir Michael Parkinson, Frank Bruno, the 62-year-old has signed a letter backing our campaign to outlaw the vile hobby and urging for support of the bill that would end legal imports.
It is feared the vital vote may not become law as many members return to their constituencies on Fridays.
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The letter reads: "On Friday MPs will debate a bill to stop British trophy hunters bringing home the heads and bodies of their victims. However, the Commons could be inquorate as most MPs will be in their constituencies.
"The bill echoes the election manifesto commitments of both the Conservatives and Labour, is backed by all other parties, and enjoys overwhelming support from voters. Yet barely half the MPs needed for a Commons vote to be valid say they will attend. A new poll has indicated that eight out of ten voters want their MP to come to the Commons to ensure that it passes.
"It would be a crushing blow to democracy if a measure promised in four Queen's Speeches were lost because not enough MPs turned up. The message to MPs is clear. Come and help consign this horrific barbarity to the pages of history. Voters, and wildlife, will thank you."
Belfast Live is also calling on readers to contact their MP to urge them to attend.
A challenge to the parliamentary consensus for an import ban came late on Tuesday when Sir Bill Wiggin, the Conservative MP for North Herefordshire, tabled an amendment allowing trophies if it can be shown the hunting contributed to the conservation of animals, plants or natural habitats.
This is not the first time Lineker has condemned trophy hunting. He responded to a secret video in which the wife of the National Rifle Association chief, Wayne LaPierre, killed an elephant, cut off its tail, held the trophy in the air and shouted "Victory!"
Lineker tweeted: "How could you ever do this? Truly abhorrent."
His post received more than 10,000 likes.
When The Mirror reported that Boris Johnson had abandoned his pledge to ban trophy hunting imports, Lineker earned more than 12,000 likes with the one-word tweet: "What??"
Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: "If MPs need a reason to ban this trade, they need only read the accounts of British hunters. They openly laugh about killing animals for entertainment and the horrific injuries they inflict. Not one ever mentions conservation as their motive to go trophy hunting."
Animal advocate and actor Peter Egan added: "We consider ourselves a nation of animal lovers. Yet after the horrific death of Cecil the lion, British trophy hunters have gone on to shoot hundreds more lions, elephants and other animals."
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