Last night, I met with colleagues and supporters who are continuing our campaign to ban trophies from hunting being brought into the UK. We were pleased to be joined by Dame Joanna Lumley and Sir Ranulph Fiennes.
I was on course as Private Members Bill Whip before the last election to get the Trophy Hunting Bill through Parliament and into law before the election robbed us of time. We are going to have another go this year and are convinced we can get it through. This landmark piece of legislation would be the strongest of its kind in the world, and has the backing of UK wildlife and animal welfare groups.
A new report by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting - published on the 9th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion by American dentist Walter Palmer - shows that BRITISH trophy hunters are also killing lions. It also reveals that British trophy hunters have killed thousands of elephants, hippos, giraffes and other endangered animals including rhinos and polar bears. A number of British companies are selling trophy hunting ‘holidays’ in Africa where trophy hunters can shoot hand-reared lions in enclosures.
Dame Joanna Lumley said the Government needed to bring in a complete ban on hunting trophies. “The British people want a comprehensive ban - not one riddled with loopholes and exemptions. It must be brought to the House of Commons immediately. It’s high time this ban was in place.”
Ranulph Fiennes said: “I’m 100% behind Dame Rebecca Harris MP’s work to bring an end to this disgrace. It’s high time we had a comprehensive ban on these sick souvenirs of innocent animals killed for so-called sport. What kind of world are we living in where this is still allowed? I’m really pleased Rebecca is campaigning to stop this.”
Peter Egan added: “Dame Rebecca Harris MP is speaking up for her constituents as well as for vulnerable wildlife with their campaign. Voters are furious that British trophy hunters are killing lions, elephants, giraffes and zebras just so they can display their heads and bodies in stomach-churning trophy rooms. This must end right away, and I’m thrilled that Rebecca is campaigning on this.”
Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting founder Eduardo Gonçalves said: “We often think of trophy hunters as crazed gun-toting Americans, so it’s a shock to many people to learn that large numbers of lions and other animals are killed every year by British trophy hunters. It’s fantastic that Dame Rebecca Harris MP has taken up the cudgels on this issue. Polls repeatedly show that voters want these sordid mementoes banned and trophy hunting abolished.”
