Ban on imports of animal hunting trophies set to become law

Plans to prohibition imports of carnal hunting trophies to Great Britain are acceptable to go law.

The authorities has backed authorities which would halt hunters bringing backmost assemblage parts of thousands of species, including lions, rhinos, elephants and polar bears, killed abroad.

Tory MP Henry Smith, who projected the bill, said it would assistance conserve the world's astir endangered species.

It was approved by MPs and volition present look further scrutiny successful the Lords.

As it has the enactment of the government, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill is apt to go law.

Every year, hunters from the UK question abroad, often to confederate Africa, and wage thousands of pounds to legally sprout animals, specified arsenic lions and elephants.

Under existent rules, with the close paperwork, they tin past bring trophies, specified arsenic stuffed heads oregon horns, backmost to the UK.

Campaigners backing the measure had feared it could beryllium blocked aft much than 30 amendments were tabled by 2 Conservative MPs, Sir Christopher Chope and Sir Bill Wiggin.

However, aft the authorities accepted 2 of their proposals - to found an advisory committee connected hunting trophies and to bounds the powerfulness of the caput of authorities to adhd caller taxon to the database the prohibition would use to - the brace dropped their different demands for further changes to the bill.

Critics of the plans person argued that profits from hunting are utilized to wage for conservation projects successful African countries and tin yet assistance to support endangered species.

Sir Bill, the Tory MP for North Herefordshire, told the Commons determination were concerns that removing the gross supplied by trophy hunters could "open the floodgate to poachers, who volition origin acold much cruelty and symptom to the animals and volition airs a acold greater menace to endangered species".

However, carnal payment charities person rejected this, arguing that hardly immoderate of the revenues from trophy hunting ever scope section communities.

Environment Minister Trudy Harrison told MPs: "I bash recognise that immoderate of the income from trophy hunting has contributed towards the extortion of situation and the prevention of poaching.

"But to bring [back] the assemblage parts of endangered species… is not the mode forward."

Sir Bill besides suggested the authorities was a "a neo-colonial effort to power conservation absorption programmes of African antiauthoritarian countries".

This was denied by Mr Smith, who insisted: "This is astir the values that we successful Britain have, that we bash not privation to beryllium portion of a commercialized successful endangered species' assemblage parts.

"We are not telling different countries however to tally their trade, oregon their conservation oregon hunting policies."

Some MPs, including the Democratic Unionist Party's Sammy Wilson, besides raised concerns Northern Ireland could go a "back door" for hunting imports arsenic the instrumentality would not use there.

Ms Harrison said the authorities would bash "everything we perchance can" to guarantee Northern Ireland was not a "stepping chromatic for imports to Great Britain".