Apparent Government U-turn on import of hunting trophies has "let down" the majority of people, Warley MP says
An apparent U-turn on stopping hunting trophies being imported has "let down the vast majority" of people across the country, an MP has said.
John Spellar had lobbied the Government to put an end to the "vile trade" as he put forward The Hunting Trophy (Prohibition) Bill to Parliament.
It secured backing from celebrities such as Dame Judi Dench and Ricky Gervais and led to the Ministers announcing they would tackle the issue.
The move would've seen the Government introduce its own bill – the Animals Abroad Bill – which has now been scrapped, according to reports.
Now Mr Spellar, who represents Warley, said he would revive his bill and "shame" Ministers into backing it to ensure the vile trade is stopped.
He said: "This U-turn on the import of hunting trophies has let down the vast majority of people in this country, and MPs from all parties, who want to see this vile trade stopped.
"They can be assured that I will bring this bill back in the next session of Parliament and we will shame the Government into backing it."
The new bill had been expected to ban the import of hunting trophies and protect almost 6,000 animals that are currently threatened by international trade. It would've also covered more than 1,000 additional species which are considered near-threatened or worse, such as the African buffalo, zebra and reindeer.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said at the time: “More animal species are now threatened with extinction than ever before in human history and we are appalled at the thought of hunters bringing back trophies and placing more pressure on some of our most iconic and endangered animals.
“This would be one of the toughest bans in the world, and goes beyond our manifesto commitment, meaning we will be leading the way in protecting endangered animals and helping to strengthen and support long-term conservation.”
