Spotlight on hunting trophies
The markhor, with its characteristic screw horns, is a species often hunted
A consultation, together with a call for evidence, has been launched by the Government to allow ministers to understand the public’s views on all sides of the hunting trophy debate and gather expert evidence to inform any next steps – including a potential ban.
The 12-week consultation will close on 25 January 2020.
The four main options under review are:
- a ban on the import and export of hunting trophies from certain species
- stricter requirements to demonstrate clear benefits to conservation and local communities before hunting trophies from certain species are permitted to enter or leave the UK
- a ban on all hunting trophies entering or leaving the UK
- continuing to apply current controls based on internationally agreed rules.
“There are a number of controls already in place… The UK Government will not issue an import permit for a trophy unless the importer can show there has been no detrimental impact on the endangered species and the trophy has been obtained from a sustainable hunting operation.”
All applications for import permits for trophies are individually scrutinised by the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) – as the UK’s CITES Scientific Authority – to determine there has been no detrimental impact on endangered species and the trophy has been obtained from a ‘sustainable’ hunting operation.
Defra has published guidance for the vet sector ahead of a proposed UK-EU Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement.
