MPs Press Labour to Ban Trophy Imports as 41 Permits Slip Through

MPs demanded Labour get moving on its promise to ban hunting trophy imports, during a Westminster Hall debate on Wednesday. Environment Minister Jenny Riddell-Carpenter said the government is still committed and will bring a bill forward when parliamentary time allows — but declined repeated invitations to set a timetable. Labour MP Clive Efford, who called the debate, called that answer not good enough and asked: who is the government afraid of?

Efford argued only a tiny minority opposes a ban, and that the issue has been debated for years with nothing left to learn from either side. He said trophy hunting does not help conservation, does not ease wildlife-human conflict and does not bring the economic benefits to rural areas that tourism can. DUP MP Jim Shannon piled on, saying imports keep arriving at nearly two dozen a year while the government drags its feet, and asked the minister for a date.

The numbers back up the delay. Between July 2024 and September 2026, the government issued permits for 41 imports, including 21 African elephants, four hippos, five lions, a leopard and a giraffe, according to the BBC. Labour MP Irene Campbell said it was upsetting that trophies still flow out too, citing a Scottish stag head exported to Zimbabwe.

This fight is not new. The Conservatives first proposed a ban in 2019, and in 2022 a bill passed the Commons before running out of time in the Lords. Conservative MP Henry Smith, who sponsored it, blamed peers for using parliamentary devices to block it, while Tory MP Roger Gale called hunters revolting and said a yellow streak runs through them.

Several MPs suggested the US is leaning on the UK to hold off. The Telegraph reported earlier this year that US Interior Secretary Doug Burgum wrote to the government arguing legal, well-regulated trophy hunting supports healthy wildlife populations, restores habitat and backs local economies. Labour's Rachael Maskell wants a ban but floated interim steps: outlawing safari hunting ads and criminalising UK residents who post kill photos.

The government says permits are only granted under strict conditions, including proof an import will not harm the conservation status of the species. Opponents of a ban, including the Community Leaders Network of southern African rural representatives, say regulated hunting funds rangers and wildlife management, and cutting it could mean fewer patrols and more poaching. A 2024 Oxford University report concluded a ban would not ease pressure on threatened species, noting about 79% of UK imports between 2015 and 2021 came from countries where hunted species were stable, increasing or abundant.