I appreciate the strength of feeling around this issue. Ministers take the welfare of all animals extremely seriously and are committed to strengthening and supporting long-term conservation of animals both internationally and at home.
Around a million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction and the abundance, diversity and connectivity of species is declining faster than at any time in human history.
In 2019, the Government held a consultation on the scale and impact of the import and export of hunting trophies. Over 44,000 responses to the call for evidence and consultation were received and 85 per cent of responses were in favour of further action. The Government’s response to the consultation set out plans to ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of endangered and threatened species.
The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill was introduced to Parliament as a Private Member’s Bill in June 2022. The Government fully supports this Bill, which will ban the import of hunting trophies for specific species. The Bill includes a power to add or remove species from the scope of the ban which will ensure that the Bill remains comprehensive and can achieve its aims.
I welcome that this Bill recently had its Second Reading in the House of Commons and I look forward to supporting it as it continues to progress through the House.
