Thank you for contacting me about trophy hunting.
I appreciate the strength of feeling around this issue. Around a million animal and plant species are threatened with extinction and the abundance, diversity and connectivity of species is declining faster than at any time in human history. I recognise the importance of strengthening and supporting long-term conservation of animals both internationally and at home.
In 2019, the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs held a consultation on the scale and impact of the import and export of hunting trophies. Over 44,000 responses to the call for evidence and consultation were received and 85 per cent of responses were in favour of further action. The response to the consultation set out the previous Government's intention to ban imports of hunting trophies from thousands of endangered and threatened species.
While, in the previous Parliamentary session introduced a Private Members' Bill which sought to ban the import of hunting trophies from around 6,000 species, including lions, elephants, rhinos and polar bears, it did not complete its passage and therefore will progress no further.
The Government needs to take this issue seriously, however it was notable that the Government's Animal Welfare Strategy, published in December 2025, made no commitment on trophy hunting.
Thank you again for taking the time to contact me.
