We’re tired of waiting – it’s time to end trophy imports and #GetTheBanDone
The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, which would have banned British imports of hunting trophies from threatened species, has been scuppered by a few pro-hunting members of the House of Lords.
We need the Government to make good on its commitments and reintroduce the ban as a Government Bill.
It’s been four years since the Conservative Government promised to introduce a ban on the import of hunting trophies from endangered species into the UK in its 2019 Election Manifesto.
The promised ban received very strong public support following a public consultation launched in November 2019. Repeated public opinion surveys have since confirmed overwhelming support among voter groups of all ages and political persuasions across all regions of the UK. The promise was reiterated in DEFRA’s Action Plan for Animal Welfare in May 2021.
However, last year the Government inexplicably dropped its plans to table the ban when it abandoned its ‘Animals Abroad Bill’ in which it would have been included alongside a raft of additional progressive animal welfare measures. Instead, the ban was proposed through a Private Member’s Bill entitled the “Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill” tabled by Crawley MP Henry Smith.
The Bill passed through the House of Commons with only minor amendments. However, it was thwarted by a small number of Members of the House of Lords, who cynically used parliamentary procedure to their advantage by proposing a huge number of amendments clearly designed to ensure the Bill ran out of parliamentary time.
Henry Smith’s Bill has now fallen with the end of the Parliamentary session.
While Mr Smith deserves great credit for pursuing the ban and navigating his Bill through the House of Commons, this manifesto commitment should have been the subject of a Government Bill in the first place, rather than being left to the much more precarious processes and timings associated with a Private Members Bill.
It is therefore vital that we do all we can to urge the government to reintroduce the ban as a Government Bill in the new parliamentary session.
We are asking our supporters once again to help by signing a petition urging the Government to introduce its own bill and #GetTheBanDone in the new Parliamentary Session.
Thank you for your continued support.
