http://www.theguardian.com/env...dustry-doesnt-reform



UK to ban import of lion trophies if hunting industry doesn't reform

Ban would be effective from 2017 if industry and the African countries involved don’t improve practices, says environment minister

Adam Vaughan
@adamvaughan_uk

Wednesday 25 November 2015 09.48 EST Last modified on Wednesday 25 November 2015 17.37 EST



The UK will ban imports of lion trophies by 2017 unless the hunting industry cleans up its act, environment minister Rory Stewart has said.

The killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe by a US dentist sparked an international outcry over trophy hunting this summer, leading to calls by politicians and conservationists for a ban on their import to the EU and US.

Last week, France became the first European country to ban the import of trophies such as lion paws and skins, which campaigners said would put pressure on the UK to follow suit.

On Tuesday, Stewart told an audience at Westminster Hall that: “Unless there is a significant improvement in the performance of the hunting industry and of those countries, this government will move to ban lion trophies,” referring to African countries which are home to remaining lion populations.

“I’m looking at something in the order of setting a timeframe in two years,” he said, in response to questioning by Conservative MP David Jones.

In a statement issued later, the environment department said: “We will examine the UK’s existing hunting trophy criteria and processes, as part of the EU, including whether and how these might be strengthened.”

The UK saw just two lion trophy imports to date this year. France, by comparison, received more than 100 lion trophy imports between 2010 and 2013.

Lionaid, a UK-based conservation charity, said it welcomed the UK’s move but a ban should come into force earlier than two years’ time, and added that it would be meeting Stewart next week to discuss the issue.

Will Travers, the founder and president of the NGO Born Free, questioned whether the UK’s ban would be enough to stem lion population declines, which have been attributed to a loss of habitat and prey, as well as pressure from hunting.

Scientists warned recently that lion numbers are set to halve in the next two decades, in central and western Africa.

Tom Quinn, campaigns director for the League Against Cruel Sports, said: “Trophy hunting is cruel, and done simply for human gratification. But without the ability to import their trophies the hunters will have much less of an incentive to kill.”

On Friday the Royal Geographical Society in London will play host to the premier of Blood Lions, a new documentary on canned hunting, the practice of rearing lions in private reserves for hunters to kill which takes place largely in South Africa.

Just another example of why we as hunters need to take responsibility for our own collective actions or face the very real prospect that governmental bodies will step in and impose a mandated solution . . . we either clean up our own act or regulators will do it for us it is that simple. The fact that laws presently allow this or that can be changed with the stroke of pen and we better start to hold ourselves to a higher standard and fight a smarter fight or be prepared to be swept away by the growing tide of negative public opinion.

I bet it will be a moving target and no amount of "reform" is going to be enough to avoid an import ban.

quote:

Originally posted by CharlesL:
I bet it will be a moving target and no amount of "reform" is going to be enough to avoid an import ban.

Exactly!

CITES sets the rules, but silly politicians do not want to follow CITES.

Both America and Europe are screwing up everything agreed on by CITES!

quote:

Originally posted by CharlesL:
I bet it will be a moving target and no amount of "reform" is going to be enough to avoid an import ban.

thi. UE is doing that on purpose France started.

quote:

Originally posted by Saeed:

Exactly!

CITES sets the rules, but silly politicians do not want to follow CITES.

Both America and Europe are screwing up everything agreed on by CITES!

Correct. It's all about PR and many other CITES countries will start taking pages from the USFWS playbook. It won't matter who posts what trophy photo or whether or not a hunt was "morally objectionable" to some hunters and not others. I do suspect that Canada might be the last importing country to fall though....so I might get a bargain lion hunt when all is said and done.

http://www.huntingreport.com/w...te.cfm?articleid=746


France & UK Announce Trophy Lion Import Bans

(posted December 02, 2015)

Lion imports to France have been banned, and the UK has announced a possible ban if the hunting industry and African nations do not make significant "improvements" in their performance.

You may recall our warnings last September after the "Cecil debacle" that the international hunting community would likely face greater pressure to ban or limit lion hunting on the policy level, and now those predictions seem to be realized. We also said that the hunting community would need to respond with better research and practices to defend its position.

The latest news from the UK confirms this estimation. Speaking in parliament, UK environment minister Rory Stewart said that the UK would ban the import of lion trophies, "Unless there is a significant improvement in the performance of the hunting industry and of those countries [which allow sport hunting]." You can read the full story in the UK newspaper The Guardian (www.theguardian.com/environment/2015/nov/25/uk-to-ban-import-lion-trophies-if-hunting-industry-doesnt-reform). The timeframe for such a ban would be two years. The Guardian reports that Lionaid, which considers hunting a threat to lions, has a meeting scheduled with the minister.

More pressing is the issue of France. In the just-released December issue of The Hunting Report, we reported on a decision by Marie-Ségolène Royal, the French Minister for Ecology, Sustainable Development and Energy, to ban imports of lion hunting trophies to France. This development also was covered in The Guardian and other European media outlets (see www.theguardian.com/environmen...-lion-hunt-trophies). The French minister has instructed officials to stop issuing permits for lion trophies immediately. When our December issue went to press on December 20, the ban's legal status was questionable due to France's membership in the EU. Now we are hearing from sources in Europe that the ban has been put in place regardless. This means no lion trophies taken this season will be importable to France. We have inquired how this will effect transiting trophies. For now hunters with a lion trophy transiting through Europe should probably avoid flight connections in France.

CIC Director General Tamas Marghescu says the CIC had sent Royal a letter trying to dissuade her from an import ban, explaining that this is not the right method to conserve lions. As this was written, a meeting had been arranged between the CIC and the cabinet of the minister.

Hunting Report correspondent Dr. Rolf Baldus, who is also with the CIC, says that the ban is still questionable. "Whether this is legal will only become known if and when a hunter takes the French government to court. The European Commission will take the issue up, when the European Commission's Scientific Review Group meets on December 15th and 16th. European legislation demands that the implementation of CITES is done in a consistent and uniform way in the EU. In any case the Commission has to inform the other member states now about the standard procedure as far as lion imports are concerned."

In the US, hunters are awaiting a decision from US Fish & Wildlife Service (USFWS) regarding listing the African lion as threatened. The Hunting Report will continue following developments at home and abroad closely, and will update readers when more information becomes available. -- Justin Jones, Assistant Editor

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Ahhhh the ol "significant improvements in their performance" nebulous measuring stick. That's certainly very informative and clear what the industry must do.

This is only going to end badly for the two or three UK lion hunters each year.

Bad for French West Africa.

The US will be next on this list I'm afraid. Sooner rather than later.

quote:

Originally posted by Greg Brownlee:
The US will be next on this list I'm afraid. Sooner rather than later.

And Greg how do you see your hunting if you were denied imports of your trophies?

It would be difficult for us to justify a high priced cat hunt if you cannot take home your Lion.

Just thinking out the box here but as you own the trophy you could send it elsewhere. Maybe China and make your self some money?

Dunno and just thinking out loud.

On some other glamour game, and at lion prices today, I have a tough time believing many (most) hunters don't have a second home in a more "import-friendly" country. Now, things really go sideways when those import friendly places start closing off too.

I decide after my first safari that I wasn't going to bring anymore animals back. If lion becomes non importable into the U.S I'll still hunt one as long as its legal for me to do so. I'm a little confused on that particular issue...if the U.S stopped importation of all african lion trophies would I be able to hunt one legally? The reason I ask is it seems some African countries won't issue a license if I don't have a cities permit available from my home country..

Hopefully someone can clear that up for me.

But yes...I intend to hunt lion regardless of being able to import it or not

quote:

Originally posted by Heym 450/400:
I decide after my first safari that I wasn't going to bring anymore animals back. If lion becomes non importable into the U.S I'll still hunt one as long as its legal for me to do so. I'm a little confused on that particular issue...if the U.S stopped importation of all african lion trophies would I be able to hunt one legally? The reason I ask is it seems some African countries won't issue a license if I don't have a cities permit available from my home country..

Hopefully someone can clear that up for me.

But yes...I intend to hunt lion regardless of being able to import it or not

You only require CITIES for export and I will put you down for a big Kafue cat.

Good attitude.

Any of you guys worried that you won't be able to get your lions into the US/UK/France/EU/Etc, can ship them to me in Namibia and I will be happy to take them off your hands.

quote:

Originally posted by Heym 450/400:
The reason I ask is it seems some African countries won't issue a license if I don't have a cities permit available from my home country..

Hopefully someone can clear that up for me.

I believe it was TZ that had that restriction which would theoretically create a wrinkle I imagine if an American passport holder wanted to export a trophy to their residence in a third country.

quote:

Originally posted by tendrams:

quote:

Originally posted by Heym 450/400:
The reason I ask is it seems some African countries won't issue a license if I don't have a cities permit available from my home country..

Hopefully someone can clear that up for me.

I believe it was TZ that had that restriction which would theoretically create a wrinkle I imagine if an American passport holder wanted to export a trophy to their residence in a third country.

What if I don't intend to import it anywhere...can I hunt lion in Tanzania if the U.S bans importation of all lion trophies? I could be wrong but I don't think U.S citizens are allowed to hunt elephant in TZ.

I'm confused...like usual

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Greg Brownlee:
The US will be next on this list I'm afraid. Sooner rather than later.

And Greg how do you see your hunting if you were denied imports of your trophies?

It would be difficult for us to justify a high priced cat hunt if you cannot take home your Lion.

Just thinking out the box here but as you own the trophy you could send it elsewhere. Maybe China and make your self some money?

Dunno and just thinking out loud.

Andrew we already had the problem with polar bear and USA.

Don't think it wont happen. Australia is already done.

quote:

Originally posted by fairgame:

quote:

Originally posted by Greg Brownlee:
The US will be next on this list I'm afraid. Sooner rather than later.

And Greg how do you see your hunting if you were denied imports of your trophies?

It would be difficult for us to justify a high priced cat hunt if you cannot take home your Lion.

Just thinking out the box here but as you own the trophy you could send it elsewhere. Maybe China and make your self some money?

Dunno and just thinking out loud.

I got to the stage where I could not careless about the size of an animal.

I just like to hunt, and to hell with whatever the bloody stupid politicians say.

As long as there is hunting in Africa, I will go and hunt1

In fact, it might save me money not to have any trophies done, so may be I will go hunting more often!

quote:

Originally posted by medved:
Andrew we already had the problem with polar bear and USA.

But have polar bear hunt prices declined?