Brussels, 25 October 2025 – The European Parliament has adopted its resolution outlining the EU’s strategic objectives for the 20th Conference of the Parties to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES CoP20), to be held later this year in Samarkand.
The resolution, which will guide the EU’s position in upcoming international negotiations, reflects a modest but important shift: for the first time in a decade, the Parliament avoided calls for a ban on hunting trophy imports and acknowledged that regulated, sustainable hunting can contribute to biodiversity conservation and community development.
In Recital D of the Resolution (P10_TA(2025)0255), the Parliament states:
“Sustainable hunting could generate financial benefits that support species conservation and habitat and biodiversity protection, provided that hunting activities are carried out under science-based national and international conservation frameworks and tightly controlled and verified population management plans.”
While this language signals greater alignment with scientific principles, it remains cautious. The benefits of sustainable use are expressed only in conditional terms (“could generate benefits”), and wildlife use is accepted solely where “strictly regulated.”
The Parliament also “urges the Commission and the Member States, in line with the EU Action Plan against Wildlife Trafficking, to apply increased scrutiny to the import of hunting trophies derived from CITES-listed species; [and] calls for extending the requirements for import permits across hunting trophies listed in Annex B to Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97, unless scientifically proven otherwise” (Paragraph 57).
According to the CIC Policy and Law Division, this approach maintains a strong focus on trade control rather than on the incentive-driven conservation models that underpin sustainable use.
As stated in its analysis, “there is nothing to be found on positive incentives for protected species through economic valuation,” and “wildlife use is only accepted where strictly regulated.”
The Division also warned against generalising measures for so-called “iconic species” such as elephants, lions, and rhinoceroses, pointing out that “to treat elephant-poor Sudan the same as elephant-rich Botswana is hardly a science-based approach.”
While the CIC recognises the Parliament’s effort to adopt a more science-oriented stance, it remains essential that future EU positions under CITES place equal emphasis on regulation and incentive, ensuring that communities, landowners, and local economies continue to see wildlife as a sustainable asset.
For further reading:
- European Parliament Resolution (P10_TA(2025)0255) – EU strategic objectives for CITES CoP20 (PDF)
- FACE Analysis – European Parliament Takes a Science-Based Approach to Hunting
Media Contact:
Tristan Breijer MBA FRGS FRSA MCIJ
Director of Communications and Public Affairs
CIC – International Council for Game and Wildlife Conservation
Email: tristan.breijer@cic-wildlife.org
Mobile: +44 781 408 7423
Website: www.cic-wildlife.org
