Calls for a ban on trophy hunting imports have been backed by Lichfield’s MP.
Michael Fabricant has joined Henry Smith along with other MPs and Lords in calling for a change in the law.
The Conservative MP said:
“With the private Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill having been blocked in the House of Lords by a few Peers determined to see it fail, I and other colleagues from several political parties in the House of Commons and Lords have asked the Prime Minister to reintroduce a similar Government Bill as a matter of urgency.
“This would stand a far better chance of becoming law.”
Michael Fabricant
The Lichfield MP said a 2019 pledge to introduce such a ban should be followed up to end the importation of “disgusting trophies”.
“Since the 2019 General Election manifesto commitment was made, there have been many representations to the Prime Minister from figures such as Dame Jane Goodall, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and most recently, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais and Dame Joanna Lumley.
“I hope the Government will end the importation of disgusting ‘trophies’, including lion paws and heads, elephant feet, tusks and skins without further delay.
“Only by doing this, will the unnecessary killing of wild animals be reduced.”
Michael Fabricant
The problem with this particularly pointless law is that is is based on UK emotion rather than African facts or science, which is why the sheer number of alterations to try and fix it up caused it to fail in the House of Lords. It will kill far more animals than it will save and has nothing to do with wild animal conservation.
You will note that the many experts quoted are “Dame Jane Goodall, Sir Ranulph Fiennes and most recently, Peter Egan, Ricky Gervais and Dame Joanna Lumley”, none of whom are experts in the use of regulated trophy hunting in the field of modern conservation They are either UK entertainers, UK slebs or living on UK public donations. None of them help in the 1.3 million sq Kms of Africa supported by hunting.
If you ask the 150 scientists and proper conservationists who wrote to the government asking them to consider the scientific facts, or if you ask the Africans who actually live with the wild animals, you get an entirely different story.
I see our MP is at the forefront of all the major issues facing this country and standing up to the problems of most concern to his constituents once again. He really is on the mark.