Boris Johnson promised to ban the import of these trophies three years ago, but the legislation has not yet been passed by parliament. Due to the delay, Conservative MP and animal welfare activist Henry Smith introduced a bill by private members banning the import of hunting trophies. A new report by the All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on the ban on trophy hunting details the lobbying efforts of international hunting teams. The report found that the US-based Safari Club International (SCI) hunting lobby group spent 1 1 million on a campaign to change the minds of MPs and the British public about banning the import of endangered species. SCI is the largest trophy hunting team in the world. It awards prizes to its members for killing a large number of endangered animals. Founded in the 1970s, it is one of the largest corporate donors to policy campaigns in the United States and calls itself “the leading advocate of hunting freedom.” The APPG report found that SCI funded a Facebook page called Let Africa Live, which posted claims such as: “The UK is going to destroy local economies in Africa.” Although the site implied that it was created by local groups in African countries, a survey found that it was funded by SCI from a cash pot called the Hunter Legacy 100 Fund. The campaign eventually shut down its Facebook page, whose security chief said: “The people behind this network have tried to hide their identities and coordination.” Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, chairman of the APPG, said the hard lobbies had warned the government that this could be a “controversial” issue. He added: “The government, if anything is controversial, always begs for more time, but we have to keep it up. The American Firearms Lobby is lobbying like crazy Saf Safari Club International has put a lot of pressure on the government. “I have my own phone calls with the prime minister. “I think he is generally committed to enforcing this legislation, but it must be done without worrying about this lobby.” Earlier this year, there was a heated debate in the Conservative Party, with ministers saying Johnson was close to lifting the ban after the shooting and hunting lobby campaign. At the time, the British Shooting and Conservation Association welcomed the news, saying a ban would hurt conservation. Proponents of trophy hunting say the funds raised from the practice are needed to fund conservation efforts and support local economies. The APPG report says the numbers of lions, elephants and rhinos have risen in Kenya, where trophy hunting is banned, while lion numbers have also recovered sharply in Zambia and Zimbabwe following temporary trophy bans. Primitive expert Jane Goodall told APPG: “Trophy hunters kill for pleasure. They destroy animals for bragging rights, to show their supposed fearlessness and courage. The hunting lobby will work hard to maintain the status quo. If we want to maintain our reputation as an animal-friendly nation, all hunting trophies should be banned. Time is of the essence. “Many of the species killed by trophy hunters are close to extinction.” Subscribe to the First Edition, our free daily newsletter – every morning at 7 p.m. BST. A Defra spokesman said: “We are committed to banning the import of hunting trophies from thousands of endangered and endangered species. This ban will be one of the strongest in the world, leading the way in the protection of endangered animals. And we welcome the private member bill, led by MP Henry Smith. “ A SCI spokesman said the deleted Facebook page was done by a contractor and not by the club’s management. They said: “The truth is that in a misguided attempt, and unbeknownst to SCI, a subcontractor acted unauthorized using fake social media accounts. “While it is unfortunate that they betrayed the trust of the hunting community by resorting to questionable tactics unnecessarily, the information conveyed by the seller about hunting and conservation is verified and is no less relevant to inappropriate distribution methods.”
