Great Britain Bans Import of Game Awards

“In light of the global biodiversity crisis, importing prize hunting from threatened animal species is unacceptable,” explains Hayk Henderson, board member of elephant conservation organization Elephant Future. “Germany is one of the world’s top contenders as an importer of prizes for endangered species. The German federal government should also ban imports.”

Between 2017 and 2020, hunting trophies were imported for 104 brown bears, 100 tigers, 93 African elephants, 68 lions, 58 wolves, 39 wild sheep, 25 leopards, nine white rhinos, and seven polar bears, Black rhino and many other protected species. To Germany – some of them carry import permits.

The import of hunting spoils rose sharply

Means: Between 2017 and 2019, the import of trophies from species protected under the Washington Convention on Endangered Species to Germany increased by 30 percent.

“In addition to Great Britain, other European countries such as France and the Netherlands have already banned the import of certain species – a German ban is badly needed,” Henderson said.

As for the proposed law, the British government notes the loss of biodiversity and recognizes that trophy hunting and the import of game trophies could put additional pressure on wildlife populations, which are already declining exponentially.

Most Germans refuse to hunt booty

The law will be passed by the British Parliament in the spring of 2022 and applies to species that are internationally protected, threatened or potentially endangered, according to the IUCN Red List. The decision was preceded by a public consultation in which more than 44,000 people participated, 84 percent of whom were in favor of banning the import of all hunting trophies.

According to a representative survey conducted in March 2021, 85% of respondents in Germany also refused prize hunting. In addition, the killing of vertebrates is only for fun and to obtain the trophy, according to the German Animal Welfare Act.