Latest news with #trophyhunting
The Independent
15 hours ago
- Politics
- The Independent
UK trophy-hunters shoot dozens of endangered animals including elephants and bears
British hunters brought home in just one year the bodies of at least three African elephants they had shot, as well as scores of body parts from crocodiles, bears, lions, baboons, cheetahs and zebras, a wildlife campaign group has claimed. In all, wealthy trophy-hunters reportedly imported into the UK 188 parts from 28 endangered or threatened species in 2023 – the year after Boris Johnson's government dropped a proposed new ban on such imports. Both Conservative and Labour election manifestos in 2019 and 2024 included pledges to introduce a ban, and the two main parties have been repeatedly accused of dithering, allowing British shooters to continue killing wild animals for fun. Joanna Lumley and explorer Ranulph Fiennes back the campaign (Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting) The latest available data from the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (Cites) shows that in 2023 hunting trophies imported into the UK included: three full bodies of African elephants, four tusks, four ears and four bones – representing at least five elephants in all 26 lion bodies, 21 giraffes and five zebra skins seven caracal cats, three leopards and two cougars two hippos and two scimitar oryx baboons and vervet monkeys parts from dozens of Crocodiles, Bears, civets, pythons, aardwolves, honey badgers and wild goats The lions were captive-bred but nearly all the other animals were wild and shot in Africa, according to the Cites information, which is taken from permits and annual reports submitted by member countries and compiled into a database. Several Canadian black bear parts were also imported, as well as one from Russia and one from Croatia. Africa's elephants are at risk of extinction, experts say, after nearly two-thirds disappeared over the past 60 years, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature. British gunmen shot at least five endangered African elephants in a year (George Wittemyer via AP) Numerous websites sell legal hunting holidays, and British wildlife hunters accounted for only around a tenth of the endangered species shot in 2023. Hunters from across the world took home nearly 1,800 giraffe body parts 'trophies' that year. Holidays to shoot endangered leopards are being sold online for up to £116,000, The Independent revealed last month. Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, is launching a documentary and three books on the subject, marking the tenth anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, which prompted an outpouring of global anger. The film, Britain's Trophy Hunters, includes new footage from UK trophy-hunters' homes, trophy rooms and South African hunting estates used by British clients. Campaigners, backed by television star Chris Packham, say trophy-hunting is accelerating the loss of nature, and are intensifying calls on the UK government to deliver on Labour's longstanding manifesto promise to ban hunting trophy imports. Actress Dame Joanna Lumley said: 'Goncalves destroys the myth that trophy-hunting is just a handful of Americans. He exposes Britain's shameful role, and why the government must act now.' Eduardo Goncalves is launching three books at a film (Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting) A private member's bill, by Conservative MP David Reed, banning trophy imports is due to have a second reading in the Commons on 11 July, and it's understood the government will set out its position then, but private member's bills rarely become law without government support. Mr Goncalves has repeatedly called on the government to bring back a ban as a government bill. A spokesperson for the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said: 'The government was elected on a mandate to ban the import of hunting trophies – that is exactly what we will do.'
The Independent
26-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Anger over £116,000 trophy hunting holidays for tourists to shoot leopards
Holidays to shoot endangered leopards are being sold online for up to £116,000, The Independent can reveal – while a long-promised UK ban on trophy hunt imports remains stalled. Big-game tour companies are openly promoting online holiday packages or auctions to win the rights to kill the animals in Africa, whose numbers are in decline across the continent. Some companies, which have dozens of hunting trips on sale, offer 'extras' to wealthy hunters, including the chance to shoot elephants, lions and cheetahs. One website has a points system, under which gunmen may be awarded silver, gold, platinum or diamond membership as they notch up rewards for hunting more animals and rarer species. A new report by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting reveals the 'disturbing' tactics used, such as baiting leopards with live animals or starting fires deliberately to flush the big cats out of hiding. In one case, a filmmaker recalled seeing a live duiker – or antelope – being tied by wire to a tree to lure a leopard, which was then shot illegally at night, the International Leopard Report says. It was not known who was responsible. The report also reveals statistics showing that 709 leopard trophies – skins, skulls, bones and full bodies – were exported from Africa in 2023. Four of those mementoes were brought into the UK. Governments have repeatedly promised to ban imports of hunting trophies to discourage Britons from overseas shooting safaris. Both Conservative and Labour election manifestos have included pledges to introduce a ban, and in a government public consultation in 2020, 84 per cent of respondents backed a ban on imports and exports. However, both the Tories and Labour have been accused of dithering since then. In 2022, Boris Johnson's government dropped the Animals Abroad Bill, which would have brought in a ban. Last year, 11 peers in the Lords blocked the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, written by the government and passed by MPs. A private member's bill of the same name by MP John Spellar later ran out of time. Now, another private member's bill, by Conservative David Reed, is due for a second reading next month. It is understood that the government will say then whether it supports it. The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, backed by television stars Joanna Lumley and Chris Packham, is calling on the government to make a ban a priority. Leopards are protected under international law and classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with some subspecies facing greater threats. In 2016, scientists said the big cat had disappeared from 75 per cent of its historical habitat, but since then, population numbers have been difficult to determine. The report says numbers may have plummeted by up to 90 per cent in 50 years, to around 50,000. Safari Club International, a club that supports legal hunting, offers awards for shooting the 'African big five' – elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalo. Steven Chancellor, a top donor to US president Donald Trump, is one of the world's most prolific hunters, according to hunting records for 2015 and 2016 from Safari Club International - the world's largest trophy-hunting group. Mr Chancellor logged nearly 500 kills, including at least 18 lions, six elephants, two rhinos and 13 leopards. One of those was the largest ever recorded. In 2018, he reportedly said illegal poaching was endangering African wildlife, not hunting. 'Poachers are killing 30,000 elephants and 1,000 rhinos every year,' The Columbus Dispatch reported. And a blogger quoted him as saying in 2012 that hunting saved elderly male lions from disease, starvation or being eaten by hyenas. The US was the biggest importer of leopard trophies last year, with 356 recorded, followed by South Africa and Hungary, according to the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting's new study. The package being offered by a commercial company for $156,300 (£116,476), which is for 28 days in Tanzania, may include chances to shoot elephants, lions, buffalo, hippos, antelope, guineafowl, ducks and geese. Eduardo Gonçalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: 'Leopards are shy, intelligent, and iconic animals that are now on the brink, yet they're being massacred for bragging rights. It's not conservation, it's barbarism. 'Britain must show leadership. Nine out of ten voters want a ban. The government has drafted a bill. The bill passed unanimously in the Commons before the election. 'Why doesn't Defra [the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs] bring it back as a government bill? Labour made a manifesto pledge to ban hunting trophies but won't say when. 'It's the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion this year. The government should be prioritising this instead of seemingly sitting on its hands.' A Defra spokesperson said: 'The government was elected on mandate to ban the import of hunting trophies – that is exactly what we will do.'
The Independent
25-05-2025
- Politics
- The Independent
Leopard-hunting holiday packages being sold for up to £116,000 while UK ban on trophy imports stalls
Holidays to shoot endangered leopards are being sold online for up to £116,000, The Independent can reveal – while a long-promised UK ban on trophy hunt imports remains stalled. Big-game tour companies are openly promoting online holiday packages or auctions to win the rights to kill the animals in Africa, whose numbers are in decline across the continent. Some companies, which have dozens of hunting trips on sale, offer 'extras' to wealthy hunters, including the chance to shoot elephants, lions and cheetahs. One website has a points system, under which gunmen may be awarded silver, gold, platinum or diamond membership as they notch up rewards for hunting more animals and rarer species. A new report by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting reveals the 'disturbing' tactics used, such as baiting leopards with live animals or starting fires deliberately to flush the big cats out of hiding. In one case, a film-maker recalled seeing a live duiker – or antelope – being tied by wire to a tree to lure a leopard, which was then shot illegally at night, the International Leopard Report says. It was not known who was responsible. The report also reveals statistics showing that 709 leopard trophies – skins, skulls, bones and full bodies – were exported from Africa in 2023. Four of those mementoes were brought into the UK. Governments have repeatedly promised to ban imports of hunting trophies to discourage Britons from overseas shooting safaris. Both Conservative and Labour election manifestos have included pledges to introduce a ban, and in a government public consultation in 2020, 84 per cent of respondents backed a ban on imports and exports. But both the Tories and Labour have been accused of dithering since then. In 2022, Boris Johnson's government dropped the Animals Abroad Bill, which would have brought in a ban. Last year, 11 peers in the Lords blocked the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, written by the government and passed by MPs. A private member's bill of the same name by MP John Spellar later ran out of time. Now, another private member's bill, by Conservative David Reed, is due for a second reading next month. It is understood that the government will say then whether it supports it. The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, backed by television stars Joanna Lumley and Chris Packham, is calling on the government to make a ban a priority. Leopards are protected under international law and classified as vulnerable by the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), with some subspecies facing greater threats. In 2016, scientists said the big cat had disappeared from 75 per cent of its historical habitat, but since then, population numbers have been difficult to determine. The report says numbers may have plummeted by up to 90 per cent in 50 years, to around 50,000. Safari Club International, a club that supports legal hunting, offers awards for shooting the 'African big five' – elephants, lions, leopards, rhinos and buffalo. Steven Chancellor, a top donor to US president Donald Trump, is one of the world's most prolific hunters, according to hunting records for 2015 and 2016 from Safari Club International - the world's largest trophy-hunting group. Mr Chancellor logged nearly 500 kills, including at least 18 lions, six elephants, two rhinos and 13 leopards. One of those was the largest ever recorded. In 2018, he reportedly said illegal poaching was endangering African wildlife, not hunting. 'Poachers are killing 30,000 elephants and 1,000 rhinos every year,' The Colombus Dispatch reported. And a blogger quoted him as saying in 2012 that hunting saved elderly male lions from disease, starvation or being eaten by hyenas. The US was the biggest importer of leopard trophies last year, with 356 recorded, followed by South Africa and Hungary, according to the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting's new study. The package being offered by a commercial company for $156,300 (£116,476), which is for 28 days in Tanzania, may include chances to shoot elephants, lions, buffalo, hippos, antelope, guineafowl, ducks and geese. Eduardo Gonçalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: 'Leopards are shy, intelligent, and iconic animals that are now on the brink, yet they're being massacred for bragging rights. It's not conservation, it's barbarism. 'Britain must show leadership. Nine out of ten voters want a ban. The government has drafted a bill. The bill passed unanimously in the Commons before the election. 'Why doesn't Defra [the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs] bring it back as a government bill? Labour made a manifesto pledge to ban hunting trophies but won't say when. 'It's the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion this year. The government should be prioritising this instead of seemingly sitting on its hands.'
