Lion trophies import move shot down
AN ATTEMPT to allow hunters to bring lion trophies back to Australia was rejected by the Senate yesterday.
Liberal Democratic Party senator and gun enthusiast David Leyonhjelm moved to overturn a ban on imports of all lion specimens, which was put in place in March in reaction to “canned” hunting.
Canned hunting involves lions being bred in captivity before being released from a cage, sometimes drugged, and shot by hunters. There is no chance of the beast escaping.
Senator Leyonhjelm argued the ban was misguided and illinformed as canned hunting was illegal in many parts of Africa, suggesting there were few potential imports from the practice. He said hunting in general supported conservation efforts.
“This is ministerial overreach in a most authoritarian manner,” he told the Senate yesterday.
“Disapproval is not a basis for government policy and governments have to accept the fact that people don’t want them interfering in their lives.”
Labor Senator Lisa Singh referred to the outcry over a US dentist who killed popular lion Cecil in Zimbabwe last month, saying it was likely at least a dozen lions had been shot since then.