'Cecil the lion has not died in vain': MPs ban hunting trophy imports

‘Cecil the lion has not died in vain’: MPs pass ban on importing hunting trophies into Britain despite claims that change backed by celebrities including Gary Lineker will hinder conservation and amount to ‘re-colonising Africa’

• Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill cleared the Commons this morning 
• Backed by celebrities as means of ending hunting of endangered species
• Critics accused them of being luvvies whose actions could increase poaching

A government minister fought off tears today as MPs passed a ban on bringing dead animal hunting trophies into the UK, despite accusations that it was a ‘colonial’ law.

Trudy Harrison, the environment minster, referenced Cecil, a lion killed by an American dentist in Africa, as she welcomed support for the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill this morning.

The bill has been supported by celebrities including BBC presenter Gary Lineker as a way of helping reduce hunting of endangered species.

However critics have accused them of being out-of-touch luvvies whose actions could increase poaching by reducing the money available for conservation efforts. 

Conservative Sir Bill Wiggin criticised ‘public campaigning and lobbying done by high profile actors and celebrities, who have very little experience in these matters, but whose voices seem to speak louder due to their fame than … the African community leaders and scientific experts who objected to the Bill’. 

But MPs passed the private members bill tabled by Tory Henry Smith without a vote this morning after amendments were accepted that limit the species that the law would apply to.

Ms Harrison told MPs it was an ’emotional’ time, adding: ‘Cecil the Lion did not die in vain.’ 

Trudy Harrison, the environment minster, referenced Cecil, a lion killed by an American dentist in Africa, as she welcomed support for the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill this morning.

The bill has been supported by celebrities including BBC presenter Gary Lineker and musician Ed Sherran as a way of helping reduce hunting of endangered species.

Cecil became a cause célèbre in 2015 due to the manner of his death. Walter Palmer, an American dentist, paid £32,000 to his Zimbabwean guides in return for a chance to shoot Cecil with an arrow from inside a walled compound.

Cecil became a cause célèbre in 2015 due to the manner of his death.

Walter Palmer, an American dentist, paid £32,000 to his Zimbabwean guides in return for a chance to shoot Cecil with an arrow from inside a walled compound. 

The black-maned lion lived on for 10 to 12 hours after he was shot. During this time he was left by his killers to ‘suffer slowly and considerably’ until he was eventually finished with a second arrow almost half a day later.

Palmer faced considerable anger and was the target of action from animal welfare campaigners.

Backed by celebrities including Joanna Lumley and Ed Sheeran, the ultimate aim of the legislation is to stop UK nationals from killing endangered animals in the first place. It brings Britain into line with countries including the United States, Australia and France.

It is also backed by No10, which said it met a Tory 2019 manifesto pledge on the issue.  

But African leaders and grassroots groups are dismayed they have not been consulted. Representatives from Zambia, Zimbabwe, Tanzania, South Africa and Namibia, which have hunted species including lions and elephants, claimed it posed a huge risk to endangered animals. 

Much of the money that regulated hunting permits provide is channelled into conservation and anti-poaching work.

In a letter to Development and Africa Minister Andrew Mitchell earlier this month, dozens of conservationists and community leaders from Botswana, Angola, Zambia and Namibia said: ‘We feel as if this is another way of re-colonising Africa.’

Sir Bill explained his motivation for proposing changes to the Bill, telling the Commons: ‘I’ve been concerned throughout the progress of this Bill, however, that it is not motivated by a desire to see African wildlife flourish and prosper.

‘If it were, then it would have paid heed to the scientific evidence provided by experts in conservation. British conservationists Professor Amy Dickman and Adam Hart have argued that 90 per cent of protected areas with lions are severely underfunded.

‘Removing trophy hunting without providing a suitable alternative of revenue will expose those underfunded protected areas to further risks such as poaching.’

He later said he believed the Bill was ‘a neo-colonial attempt to control conservation management programmes of African democratic countries’.

The North Herefordshire MP said: ‘I know that not one of us here today is a racist or has that really nasty streak of wanting to judge people by the colour of their skin, but we have to be desperately careful that we don’t signal that we know best to countries that are emerging.’

The Conservative MP for Crawley, Henry Smith, disagreed with Sir Bill’s assessment, telling the Commons: ‘To be clear, the territorial extent of this Bill is Great Britain.’

He added: ‘This is about the values that we in Britain have, that we do not want to be part of a trade in endangered species’ body parts.

‘We are not telling other countries how to run their trade, or their conservation or hunting policies, although we may have a range of personal opinions on this, and it is important to remember that.’

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