France Bans Import of Lion Hunting Trophies
France has become the first EU country to stop the import of lion trophies with immediate effect.
France has become the first EU country to stop the import of lion trophies with immediate effect.
French Environment Minister Ségolène Royal announced in a letter to animal welfare organisations that French authorities will no longer issue import permits. Royal is also pushing for stricter controls on hunting trophies from other species at EU level and with the countries concerned.
«Pro Wildlife» has long been calling on the federal government to ban the import of trophies from lions and other endangered species. Africa’s lions are in a dire situation — and big game hunting is unacceptable on both ecological and ethical grounds, according to Daniela Freyer of the species conservation organisation Pro Wildlife.
Representatives of the federal government had most recently advocated at an EU meeting in September for the continued allowance of lion trophy imports from Tanzania. Scientists have been documenting the catastrophic effects of hobby hunting there for many years. The lion population in East Africa has declined by at least 60 percent over the last 21 years. Lions are already extinct in at least 12, and possibly as many as 16, African countries. Across Africa, the population is estimated at fewer than 20’000 animals.
Every year, hundreds of lions in Africa are killed by foreign trophy hunters. Germany is the EU country with the most trophy imports after Spain. Australia already banned the import of lion trophies in March 2015, and the United States is currently also considering restrictions.
Lions are protected internationally under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES). Import into the EU is only possible if the competent authority of the importing country (in Germany, the Federal Agency for Nature Conservation) certifies that the import will not adversely affect the conservation status of the species or the range of the population, and that recreational hunting and export are legal. Wildlife conservationists doubt that these conditions are met for lions and other endangered species, and are calling for import bans.
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