Ban Trophy Hunting

The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting was set up in 2018 by former League Against Cruel Sports CEO Eduardo Goncalves, former WWF International Director Jean-Paul Jeanrenaud, legendary explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes OBE, and actor and leading animal advocate Peter Egan. Since launching, we have persuaded the British government to ban hunters from bringing home their sick animal trophies back into the UK, and are pushing for the law to be implemented ASAP. Britain has been a vocal supporter of moves to curb the illegal trade in endangered wildlife, and people in the U.K. are rightly proud of our record in progressive animal welfare laws. Therefore it may come as a surprise to many to learn that the government has allowed hunters to bring home hundreds of trophies of endangered animals that they’ve killed for “sport” in Africa and other countries. The government has even permitted several tons of ivory from elephants killed by British hunters to be imported. And the number of lion trophies coming into Britain has actually increased since the global outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion. The British government previously promised to ban the import of lion trophies unless changes were made by the hunting industry. However, it then failed to act. Meanwhile, the governments of France, the Netherlands and Australia have all now stopped allowing hunters from bringing in lions and other trophies. Investigations by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting have found that government officials in Britain have given the green light to hunters to bring home elephant ears, trunks, feet and skins, as well as tusks. We also revealed that other trophies currently coming into Britain included those of hippos, leopards, and rhinos. The government has even permitted hunters to bring in trophies of ‘Appendix I’ species, which are considered the most critically endangered animals. The government has now pledged to ban trophies of all threatened, vulnerable and endangered animals.