Trophy Hunting Debate
Full Debate: Read Full DebateDepartment: Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
John McNally
Main Page: John McNally (Scottish National Party - Falkirk)Department Debates - View all John McNally's debates with the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs
Trophy Hunting
John McNally Excerpts(5 years, 6 months ago)
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John Mc Nally (Falkirk) (SNP)
Obviously, killing animals for sport is totally unacceptable. Does my hon. Friend agree that hunting lions does not benefit conservation in any way? That is the presumption of the recent change in US regulations. Why cannot the UK do exactly the same? If the US can do it, we should be able to.
Martyn Day
I agree entirely. Indeed, the US ban led to a reduction of 90% in imports of such trophies. We would all benefit from that. There is very little financial benefit from trophy hunting to local communities. The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting has highlighted that it amounts to 0.3% of GDP in African nations, while photographic safaris generate 40 times as much. The hon. Member for Islwyn (Chris Evans) spoke about the benefits of nature tourism. Those nations could gain much more financial benefit from that.
In conclusion, I hope the UK Government will consider a full ban on trophy hunting. I welcome the consensual nature of this debate, and I am grateful to have had the opportunity to participate.