A new paper published by the Institute of Economic Affairs (IEA) – a free market think tank based in London – has taken a closer look at efforts in the United Kingdom to introduce a ban on the import of hunting trophies.
“Elephant in the Room – Why a trophy hunting ban would hurt conservation and development” is an investigation into the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill in the United Kingdom (as well as past iterations), which was being processed through Parliament prior to the recent general election.
The issue is expected to be revisited during this new administration, with the Labour government committing to a hunting trophy ban as part of their manifesto in the run up to the election.
Authored by Dr Francis Vorhies, Director of the African Wildlife Economy Institute (AWEI), the new IEA paper reflects on how a ban on hunting trophies would undermine the United Kingdom’s position as a member of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and supporter of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.
It further notes that the most recent proposal overrides regulations already in place by CITES, creating “an unusual post-Brexit dependency on EU wildlife trade regulations by referring to EU annexes for species listings” instead of CITES appendices.
As an alternate approach, it is suggested that the United Kingdom should look to support trade liberalisation and conservation through its support of multilateral frameworks and agreements.
