Greg to serve on Commons Committee debating historic trophy hunting ban

Greg has been named as a member of a special House of Commons committee to oversee a bill which could introduce the world’s toughest ban on hunting trophies.

The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill proposes to ban British trophy hunters from bringing back body parts of threatened species from Africa and other parts of the world. It will be debated by the cross-party Public Bill Committee of MPs this month.

Since 1980, British hunters have brought home approximately 5,000 trophies of species listed as endangered by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species. The most popular African animals shot by British hunters are Elephants, Hippos, Leopards, Zebras and Lions. Other animals include Polar bears, Cheetahs, and the critically endangered Black rhino. 

Greg said; “I am pleased to be serving on the Public Bill Committee for this important and long-overdue legislation. The Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill will ban British hunters from bringing so-called ‘trophies’ of endangered and vulnerable animals into Britain.

Bill promoter Henry Smith MP said; “I’m grateful to Sir Greg for agreeing to serve on the Public Bill Committee for my Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill.

“This Bill will be an effective deterrent against those seeking to cause pain and suffering to animals. I look forward to working with Sir Greg on the Bill Committee.”

Experts say elephant numbers have fallen from 3 million a century ago to just 400,000. Lion populations have crashed from 200,000 in the 1970s to between 10-20,000. Scientists say trophy hunting is one of the reasons for this.