PM urged to press ahead with trophy hunting import ban to block sick souvenirs
Campaigners tonight piled pressure on the Tories to deliver a manifesto pledge to ban trophy hunting imports.
Plans to block hunters bringing their sick souvenirs back to Britain have stalled after Conservative backbench peers delayed a Bill in the Lords. The legislation, led by Tory MP Henry Smith, would stop hunting tourists importing animal skins, severed heads and carcasses after shoots abroad.
But Tory peers, including some who support hunting, delivered a string of lengthy speeches as the clock ticked towards the debate’s deadline this week - jeopardising its progress. The move triggered fury - and sparked calls for Rishi Sunak to take over the legislation to guarantee it becomes law. The Mirror-backed Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) legislation is a Private Member’s Bill and the Bill will collapse unless it becomes law before the current parliamentary session finishes ahead of the King’s Speech on November 7.
The Lib Dems called on the Prime Minister to “take the Bill into government time at the earliest opportunity”. The party added: “This would ensure it is given enough time to pass into law before Parliament formally dissolves.”
Lib Dem environment spokesman Tim Farron said: “The Government cannot allow this opportunity to ban these cruel and disturbing practices to slip away. It is morally incumbent on them to step up and get this Bill over the line. Protections for these majestic creatures from being brutally harmed must be brought through as quickly as possible. It is within ministers’ power to end this repugnant situation. It would be utterly contemptible for them not to intervene.”
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Wildlife campaigners echoed the demand. Four Paws UK director Sonul Badiani-Hamment said: “We urge the Government to immediately make more time for the Bill and to continue pushing it through; they have the will of the nation and Parliament behind them.” Humane Society International senior campaigns director Claire Bass said: “The Government must keep its resolve and bring this Bill back to the Lords urgently to deliver the promised trophy hunting import ban.”
World Animal Protection campaigns director Peter Kemple Hardy said: “We demand that parliamentary time is found to ensure that the Bill becomes law. The British public overwhelmingly supports the Bill and should not be held hostage to a small group of Lords trying to derail the legislation.” Born Free’s policy chief Mark Jones said: “This issue should have been tabled as a government Bill in the first place which would have made it far more difficult for those wishing to wreck it and perpetuate the importation of wild animal trophies - magnificent animals killed for ‘fun’.”
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