Germany approves trophy imports at record levels – not a single application rejected

Germany remains a key sales market for hunting trophies of internationally protected species.

This is shown by new figures from the Federal Government, published by Pro Wildlife on 29 May 2026: in 2025 alone, 679 import procedures for hunting trophies into Germany were registered – including 209 mountain zebras, 60 giraffes, 28 lions, 21 American black bears, 20 African elephants, six white rhinoceroses and one polar bear. Over the past ten years, imports add up to 6,422 import procedures.

Particularly alarming: in the last three years, not a single application for an import permit has been rejected.

Lions from canned hunting: bred to be shot

The problem becomes particularly clear in the case of lions from South Africa: in 2025, 96.2 per cent of the lion trophies imported into Germany came from breeding farms – that is, from the very system criticised internationally as canned hunting. In fenced-off areas, animals accustomed to humans are killed for trophies with no chance of escape. Pro Wildlife describes this as the commercial production of lions for shooting – not species conservation but exploitation under poor husbandry conditions and with inbreeding.

The Federal Government fails to provide answers

The new figures reveal considerable gaps in official oversight. According to its own statements, the Federal Government is unaware that hunting lobby organisations such as «Conservation Force» are involved in drawing up population management plans for elephants and leopards as well as non-detriment findings in Botswana – even though these documents form the basis for trophy exports.

The economic justification for trophy hobby hunting also rests on shaky ground: the Federal Government has no knowledge of how revenues are distributed between hunting farm owners, intermediaries and local communities. It is likewise unaware of how the local population in the countries of origin actually regards trophy hobby hunting.

Oversight failures with EU-protected species too

Equally critical is the marketing of trophy hunts for species protected under EU law, such as brown bears, particularly in Romania and Croatia. Because of open internal borders, the corresponding transports within the EU are not recorded. Pro Wildlife speaks of a glaring failure of oversight: of all things, for strictly protected EU species neither import figures are collected, nor is their marketing regarded as a problem.

Pro Wildlife demands import ban

Pro Wildlife is calling for an import ban on hunting trophies of endangered and internationally protected species, a halt to the import of trophies from bred lions, and a ban on marketing the corresponding hunting trips at trade fairs and online. Germany should also campaign at EU level for uniform, stricter rules.

What is happening at record levels in Germany also affects Switzerland: anyone who defends trophy hobby hunting as a harmless tradition is ignoring what lies behind the kill packages. More on the crime surrounding hobby hunting and on animal rights on this platform.