We’ll end the cruel animal trophy trade, say Labour
Gove: I’ll ban big-game hunters bringing trophies back to UK
PLANS for a total ban on the ‘cruel and indefensible’ import of wild animal trophies will be unveiled by Labour today.
In a move designed to steal a march on the Government, the party will say it is ready to act now to end the controversial trade in souvenirs stripped from the bodies of threatened species such as lions, elephants and rhinos.
The plan will form part of a new ‘animal welfare manifesto’ to be released later this week, and is expected to be included in Labour’s wider manifesto in the event of a snap election this autumn.
Ministers have already legislated for a ban on ivory sales and they are considering wider restrictions on animal trophies.
Boris Johnson’s girlfriend Carrie Symonds is among those pushing for swift action on the issue. In a speech earlier this month, she said: ‘Trophy hunting is cruel, it is sick, it is cowardly and I will never, ever, understand the motivation to do it.’
Sue Hayman, Labour’s environment spokesman, said the time had come for a total ban on the trade.
She added: ‘Shooting and importing animals so that their heads, antlers and skins can adorn the trophy rooms of a few wealthy hunters is cruel and indefensible.
‘The trade is exacerbating the decline of threatened species and brings unnecessary suffering to animals.
‘Labour is the party that introduced the Hunting Act and by working with the general public, conservation charities and animal rights organisations on our Animal Welfare Manifesto, we will be the party to end the import of trophy animals.’ Trophy hunting is the shooting of certain animals – usually big game such as rhinos, elephants and lions – for pleasure.
The trophy is any part of the animal – its head, skin or any other body part – that the hunter keeps as a souvenir.
The practice is common in certain parts of the world, with 1.7million trophies legally traded between 2004 and 2014. About 200,000 were from threatened species. Of those, 2,500 were brought home by British hunters, including hundreds of heads, feet, tails, hides, tusks and horns from some of the most endangered species – including rhinos and elephants.
Lion bones, leopard skulls, elephant ears and crocodile skins were among the items imported to the UK last year.
The Government pledged to ban imports of lion trophies by 2017 unless the hunting industry cleaned up its act, but the law has not yet been changed.
Last month, the then environment secretary Michael Gove took the first steps towards outlawing trophy imports by calling for evidence on whether to ban hunters from bringing their grisly souvenirs into the country.
Animal welfare is seen as a key battleground at the next election. Theresa May’s decision to back a free vote on repealing the foxhunting ban is thought to have damaged the Tories at the last election.
Mr Gove introduced a string of initiatives on the issue, including the ivory ban, restrictions on puppy farming and a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses.