23rd February 2023
The Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation (CAWF) is urging MPs to attend the Remaining Stages of Patron Henry Smith MP’s Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill taking place on Friday 17th March.
The commitment to ban trophy hunting imports was included in both the Conservative Manifesto 2019, and also Defra’s world-leading Action Plan for Animal Welfare published in 2021.
In March last year polling showed overwhelming support for the policy of banning trophy hunting imports. Amongst voters polled, 86% agreed that the UK Government should ban trophy hunters from bringing back trophies of hunted animals as soon as possible, and amongst Conservative voters this was 92%. You can read the full briefing here.
Meanwhile recent new polling shows 86% of Conservative voters agreed with the statement: “My MP should attend the House of Commons for this vote” and 87% of Conservative voters agreed with the statement: “My MP should vote to ban British trophy hunters bringing home their ‘trophies’ of endangered animals”.
Last year several MPs alongside British explorer Sir Ranulph Fiennes spoke out against trophy hunting imports at Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation’s World Animal Day reception in memory of late Patron Sir David Amess, hosted at Conservative Party Conference in Birmingham by Jane Stevenson MP.
Conservative Animal Welfare Foundation Patron Sir Roger Gale MP also Chairs the APPG on Banning Trophy Hunting, which has been campaigning for a ban on hunting trophy imports for many years.
On Friday 17th February Dame Joanna Lumley DBE spoke with the Rt Hon. Nadine Dorries MP in an exclusive for Talk TV where she expressed her support for Henry Smith’s Bill, and urged MPs to attend.