The UK’s long-promised ban on imports of hunting trophies – backed by celebrities including Ed Sheeran and Dame Judi Dench – could be derailed by rebel Tories, it’s feared.
A bill outlawing the importation of animal parts from hunting abroad is due to face its final hurdle in the House of Commons on Friday, before entering the Lords.
But MPs Bill Wiggin and Christopher Chope have tabled amendments dubbed “hostile” by the bill’s supporters, and as most MPs are in their constituencies on Fridays, conservationists say there is a real risk that not enough MPs will turn up to oppose the amendment and pass the ban.
The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, dubbed Sally’s Law after a rescued tiger cub, would stop British trophy hunters from bringing back bodies and parts of threatened species, especially from Africa.
Musicians Ed Sheeran and Liam Gallagher and actors Joanna Lumley, Dame Judi Dench and Ricky Gervais, presenter Gary Lineker and explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes have all voiced support for the measure.
The government promised a ban in its 2019 election manifesto, and included it in the Queen’s Speech and in its grand 2021 “animal welfare action plan” – but within months it emerged ministers would go back on the pledge.
Conservative backbencher Henry Smith then introduced a private member’s bill to get the ban through. Private members’ bills rarely make it all the way through parliament but this time the government gave its backing.
Conservation specialists say the ban is vital as demand for trophy hunting has increased in recent years, threatening populations.
Since 1980, British hunters have brought home about 5,000 trophies of species listed as endangered by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites), according to Mr Smith.
The most popular African animals shot by British hunters are elephants, hippos, leopards, zebras and lions. They have even targeted the critically endangered black rhino.
British trophy hunters legally killed and brought home the bodies of about 500 baboons and monkeys over a 30-year period, The Independent has previously revealed.
Sir Christopher, who has previously obstructed bills to ban upskirting and tackle female genital mutilation, and Mr Wiggin have tabled about 30 amendments that campaigners say would wreck the legislation, even though the Conservative government officially backs it.
Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said the proposals would sabotage the bill, meaning “basically any Tom, Dick or Harry will be able to claim they are helping conservation by virtue of paying a trophy fee”.
Sir Geoffrey Clifton-Brown had previously told constituents he planned an amendment giving hunters exemptions. In an email seen by The Independent, he said he would propose giving ministers powers to make one-off exemptions “where the ban would put a particular conservation project at risk”.
Mr Goncalves said: “The ‘smart ban’ he is proposing is a copy of what the hunting industry did in the US to undermine import restrictions brought in under the Obama administration.
“It would mean any and every British hunter would be able to claim an exemption, just by virtue of paying a trophy fee for the animal they had shot.”
The organisation said British trophy hunters have “earned a reputation as some of the worst in the world, shooting tame lions in enclosures, defenceless giraffes, monkeys and endangered animals like elephants, cheetahs and polar bears.
“Some hunters even win awards for killing over 125 species of animals.”
More than 44,000 people responded to a public consultation from 2019 to 2021, in which 86 per cent supported a ban.
Some conservationists argue that trophy hunting is a way to bring money to areas that are often poor, and that the funds go back into conserving land or species. But opponents dispute this, saying the money goes into government coffers.
Various animal-welfare organisations including the Born Free Foundation, Animal Defenders International and Humane Society International, are all urging supporters to lobby their MPs to vote down the hostile amendment to get the ban passed.
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation said: “Due to most MPs being in their constituencies on a Friday, there is a real risk that not enough MPs will turn up in order to pass the bill.”
In a debate last year, Sir Bill said: “We cannot expect people in rural Africa to have the same views on this subject as the voters in, say, Crawley.
“That is why telling Africans how to manage their wildlife is fundamentally wrong, post-colonial and possibly racist.”
He also praised official hunting programmes in Africa as “well-regulated and legal”.
But Mr Smith said: “Trophy hunting is cruel, unnecessary, and has no place in a civilised society. We can’t end it but we can prevent British hunters taking part.
“It’s time to send a message to the world that it is wrong to kill endangered animals for entertainment.
“Nine out of 10 voters want an immediate ban. There is a clear mandate to act. We must tackle the extinction emergency head-on.”
The vote on Friday will be on the bill’s report stage, before it goes to a third reading and then goes to the Lords for scrutiny.
A spokesperson for the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: “The public has voiced their concern at the thought of hunters bringing back trophies from endangered animals and this ban will be one of the toughest in the world, further demonstrating the UK’s leadership in driving global efforts to reverse biodiversity loss.”
