News

US Secretary of the Interior writes to UK Environment Secretary to express displeasure about Labour’s Manifesto Pledge to ban the import of hunting trophies.

Last week, Doug Burgum, the US interior secretary, warned of “unintended consequences” from the Government’s proposed crackdown on hunters bringing body parts of lions, elephants, zebras and other wildlife killed for sport back to Britain.

In a letter to Emma Reynolds, the UK Environment Secretary, Mr Burgum was of the opinion that there would be “unintended consequences” if the ban was implemented – and that while “well intentioned, the legislation risks undermining conservation efforts not only in the United States but in communities around the world” and that “Legal, well-regulated hunting – particularly trophy hunting – plays a vital role in supporting healthy wildlife populations, restoring habitat and supporting local economies.”

Sadly, Mr Burgum’s missive is light on any detail. Mr Burgum does not inform Ms Reynolds of what these “unintended consequences” might include. Similarly, the import ban on US trophies will have a negligible effect on US “conservation” efforts – in the ten years 2014-2023, UK trophy hunters imported a grand total of 31, yes 31 trophies from species native the USA under the CITES “wild” category, most of which, 7, were polar bears.  Also, when Mr Burgum opines that “Legal, well-regulated hunting – particularly trophy hunting – plays a vital role in supporting healthy wildlife populations, restoring habitat and supporting local economies” he is really walking on very thin ice.

For African species the evidence that trophy hunting plays a role in supporting healthy wildlife populations, restoring habitat and supporting local economies is not based on any factual assessment and falls directly in the category of rhetoric. 

Why would Mr Burgum decide to write this letter?

Clearly the language and hyperbole comes straight out of the Safari Club International playbook. It is well-known that SCI (and perhaps other US-headquartered pro-hunting organisations like the Dallas Safari Club and Conservation Force) are fundamentally opposed to the possibility of a UK import ban. Apparently SCI, with their deep pockets, has already been investing considerable funds in efforts to undermine the proposed ban in multiple ways. Including seeking and funding reports from various African hunting organisations, funding a trip to London by a former minister of environment from Botswana and his entourage to directly lobby against the ban mainly in the House of Lords, and incessantly spouting pro-hunting rhetoric in the many media outlets supportive of trophy hunting. Mr Burgum is also a known Trump supporter. But whether Trump himself is behind this move is doubtful. While both Trump sons are known to trophy hunt, Trump himself called trophy hunting a ”horror show” during his first term. But Trump could easily have changed his mind during his second term – US trophy hunters include some very wealthy and influential people. 

UK conservation organizations, including LionAid, seem up in arms, and they should be. Not least because Ms Reynolds has not made any official reply, leaving it to Baroness Hayman, DEFRA Undersecretary of State, to contact the US Embassy. We were not informed of the results of that discussion. Also, Mr Burgum clearly trampled on the sovereign right of the UK to make their own legislation based on the overwhelming will of the UK public to seek a ban on trophy imports. 

Meanwhile, it is high time that the UK government starts making some tangible progress on the ban. The proposed ban on trophy-hunting imports was first pledged by Boris Johnson in the 2019 Conservative Party manifesto but has still not passed through Parliament, despite repeated attempts. The proposed ban has received cross-parliamentary support, and while efforts to get the Bill through Parliament (via Private Member’s Bills) have made some progress, they always strand on the rocks of the House of Lords. Critics have labelled the Bill as something only supported by “luvvies and leftie celebrities” including Gary Lineker, Joanna Lumley and Ricky Gervais. For example, Charlie Jacoby, who leads SCI in the UK, said: “I welcome this latest in a long line of interventions from countries with far better track records on wildlife than the UK. If it annoys a few urban MPs and TV comedians, so be it. This Government has lost touch with people on the frontline of wildlife management. Trophy hunters are conservation heroes.” 

If the government wants to get serious about the Bill and this manifesto promise, it will need government sponsorship right from the start, not just left to flounder about via Private Member’s proposals. That is what we should be pushing to start making progress. 

LionAid will continue to urge the UK Government to ban the import of hunting trophies.

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