The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, introduced by Henry Smith MP to legislate for a historic ban on trophy hunting imports into this country, has been passed by the House of Commons.
Speaking in Westminster Hall after thanking supporters of his legislation, Henry said;
“At the last General Election we stood on a manifesto commitment to ban imports of hunting trophies of endangered animals. The House of Commons passing this legislation today marks an important moment in ensuring that this pledge to support conservation becomes a reality.
“I’m grateful to the Government for supporting my Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill and I look forward to it now progressing through the House of Lords.
“Our country does not want to be part of a trade in the body parts of endangered species. Today the Commons sent this message loud and clear.
“On this day, my thoughts are very much with the family and friends of our late colleague, Sir David Amess, who was taken from us far too soon.
“Sir David was a tireless campaigner for the banning of trophy hunting imports. I hope that he would have been proud of this legislation being passed by the Commons today.”
The Bill is being supported by the Government, in line with its manifesto commitment at the General Election in 2019.
The Crawley MP and the Government accepted two amendments to the Bill at report stage; including the introduction of an Advisory Board on Hunting Trophies.
The Bill will protect animals listed by the internationally agreed Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES).
Henry’s legislation would ban British hunters from bringing body part ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable animals into Great Britain.
Being approved by MPs at report stage and third reading today marks the conclusion of the Bill’s passage through the Commons, ahead of it being scrutinised further in the House of Lords on a date to be confirmed.
This follows the Crawley MP introducing the Bill in the Commons on 15th June 2022, it passing second reading on 25th November, and passing committee stage on 25th January of this year.
The International Biodiversity Minister, Trudy Harrison, said;
“This is a pivotal moment in delivering one of our key manifesto commitments on international conservation and animal welfare.
“Using an internationally agreed list of species, this will play an important part in helping reverse the decline of wildlife across the world.
“I look forward to it becoming an Act of Parliament.”
Please find the full text and video of Henry’s speech during report stage here and third reading here.
