23/11/2022
Why I am bringing the Trophy Hunting Bill to Parliament
By Henry Smith MP (Conservative, Crawley)
One of the many areas of policy about which Conservatives can rightly be proud is our record on animal welfare and conservation.
The Ivory Act is recognised as world-leading. Animal charities lauded our Animal Sentience Act. The Kept Animals Bill is ground-breaking legislation. Britain is rightly seen as a leader in the fight against wildlife trafficking.
And now we are about to make history. Again.
On Friday 25 November, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill receives its Second Reading. The bill is a manifesto commitment that has been announced in the Queens Speech and which I am introducing as a Private Member’s Bill.
It will ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of threatened species including lions, rhinos, elephants, and polar bears. It will be the toughest ban in the world.
It reflects the strongly-held views of Conservative voters. A 2022 opinion poll by Survation revealed 92% of Conservative voters backed the ban, with just 1% against.
Defra held an extensive public consultation. Over 44,000 organisations and individuals took part, including scientists, conservation groups and representatives from African communities of which 86% said they supported tough action.
A coalition of Britain’s leading wildlife and animal welfare charities is actively championing the bill. Supportive editorials have been published in newspapers including The Times and the Daily Mirror.
It is not hard to see why. The killing of an animal purely for a ‘trophy’ is alien to British, as well as Conservative, values.
It is also sheer madness. A recent WWF report found wildlife numbers have fallen by 69% since 1970. Scientists have shown that trophy hunting is making a bad situation worse.
African communities complain that trophy hunters are wiping out local wildlife - and that this is depriving them of opportunities to benefit from photo safaris.
I recently met Botswana’s former President Ian Khama. He banned trophy hunting in his country when he was head of state. He said: “Global Britain means leading the world by example. Britain will gain a great deal by doing so on this issue. The UK should strive to do all it can to help protect our shared natural heritage and halt this reckless destruction.”
I know this is a sentiment shared by the vast majority of Conservatives. I very much hope my Conservative colleagues will join me in the chamber on November 23 - and help make history.
Note - Henry Smith MP has also written an article in today's Daily Mirror:
Tory MP Henry Smith is calling on every Mirror reader to get in touch with their MP ahead of this Friday's debate in the House of Commons