Antis blurring the lines between fact and fiction
Conor O'Gorman
A Private Member’s bill targeting trophy hunting ignores the views and evidence provided by scientists, conservationists and African community leaders and should not be given any further parliamentary time, says Dr Conor O’Gorman.
On 25 November 2022, a Private Member’s bill to ban the import of hunting trophies received support during a debate at its Second Reading, thereby allowing it to progress to the next stage of parliamentary scrutiny.
The debate was described in the Daily Mail as a ‘Hurricane of misinformation’ after Dr Amy Dickman, a professor of wildlife conservation at Oxford University, reported that analysis of 118 statements made by MPs during the debate found that 85 (72 per cent) were either false or misleading.
Sir Roger Gale MP, supporting the Bill, told the House of Commons that hunting is, “gratification of the most revolting kind, which I would compare with paedophilia.” What an abhorrent comment.
On the contrary, Sir Bill Wiggin MP warned the Bill was unnecessary, explaining that: “A licence is required to bring them in; the legislation is already in place”.
How is trophy hunting regulated?
The UK regulates the export and import of hunting trophies under existing rules designed to ensure that international trade in animals and plants does not threaten their survival in the wild.
Where permits have been given to import hunting trophies into the UK, it is precisely because they have been certified as having been harvested sustainably.
Trophy hunting is part of a conservation strategy for species in many parts of the world. It’s recognised as such by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature and the United Nations.
In 2019, when Defra consulted on options for new controls on hunting trophies, BASC advised that the current system works well and provides excellent protection for endangered species.
A sea of misinformation
In November 2021, when the government’s Environment Food and Rural Affairs Committee held an inquiry into trophy hunting, the only people invited to speak to MPs at the hearing were representatives from the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, Humane Society International and the Born Free Foundation.
The lines between fact and fiction were blurred in their exchanges. Indeed, when the above organisations were pressed by MPs on whether a hunting trophy import ban would address biodiversity loss and support conservation of endangered species, their response was less than convincing. Instead, they expressed their view that “it will send a very important political message”.
Then, in December 2021, Defra announced that the government would take forward a ban on hunting trophy imports. BASC blasted factual errors behind claims that this would save thousands of species. To give you an idea of scale, in 2020 there were a grand total of 12 imports of hunting trophies under CITES.
And so, here we are again a year later, with UK-based animal rights activists and their celebrity supporters continuing to spout misinformation about overseas hunting.
It is disappointing that antis are appearing to influence the passage of a Private Member’s bill that is not fit for purpose.
Putting endangered species more at risk
The Bill is so poor that if it does get to the next stages of scrutiny (and that is by no means guaranteed) it may require a significant amount of parliamentary time. There are echoes of Labour’s infamous hunting bill which required 700 hours of debate.
Let’s be clear – the sole purpose of the Bill is to stop people paying to go recreational shooting.
Astonishingly, the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, the same group that is secretariat for the All Party Parliamentary Group for Banning Trophy Hunting, is paying for campaigns which openly call us serial killers.
It’s certainly not about conservation with experts warning that a ban will in fact put endangered species more at risk.
An open letter to government
Hunting tourism overseas is managed and regulated by national governments with their owns laws and practices, as is the case for people coming to the UK to hunt deer and other species.
Appeasing animal rights activists on overseas hunting may only serve to embolden their aim to ban recreational shooting in the UK.
In January 2022, more than 100 scientists, conservationists and African community leaders wrote an open letter to the government saying that African perspectives had been ignored. They also pointed out that by allowing ‘trophy hunting’ of deer to continue within the UK, the government was opening itself up to accusations of hypocrisy by banning imports from countries with impressive conservation records such as Namibia and Botswana, where trophy hunting is used to fund conservation.
If the UK government would like to make a significant, positive impact, it should continue to finance the Illegal Wildlife Trade Challenge Fund, a grant scheme that provides support to projects around the world that are tackling the illegal wildlife trade and the devastating consequences of poaching.
This Bill is an assault on evidence-led policy making and BASC will continue to brief MPs and Peers with the facts.
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