I have long supported efforts to ban the cruel and barbaric practice of importing animal ‘trophies’ into the UK.

In the last Parliamentary session, we came very close to introducing a ban through the ‘Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill’.  This Bill had completed its stages in the House of Commons but was blocked from passing in the House of Lords by 11 Peers who made the Bill run out of time by tabling more than 60 amendments and insisting on debating them individually.   

It makes a mockery of our democratic process that 11 unelected Lords could derail a popular, cross-party Bill that was introducing a measure that was in the Government’s 2019 manifesto and its ‘Action Plan for Animal Welfare’.  This is yet another reason why the House of Lords is in dire need of replacement by a democratic alternative. 

In December last year, I wrote to the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Steve Barclay, and asked him to reintroduce the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill. 

I later received a reply from Lord Benyon, the Minister of State for Climate, Environment and Energy, who reiterated the Government’s support for the Bill and the ban that it would have implemented.  However, Lord Benyon gave no indication of whether and when the Bill would return to Parliament.  

Thankfully, my Opposition Colleague, John Spellar MP, did not wait for the Government and re-introduced the Bill himself under the same name: the ‘Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill’. 

This iteration of the Bill had its Second Reading on 22 March and Rebecca Pow, the Minister for Nature, concluded her contribution to the debate by thanking Mr. Spellar for bringing the Bill back to the House of Commons and reconfirmed that “the Government are fully committed to supporting it”. 

There were two Conservative MPs who objected to the Bill and triggered a vote, however, they were the only two to vote against it, whereas a cross-party group of MPs voted for it.  The Bill therefore passed its Second Reading, again. 

With the backing of both Opposition MPs and the Government, this Bill should be able to pass before the next General Election, when all unpassed Bills will automatically fall.  However, we must not be complacent, there is still a tiny minority of politicians in both Houses of Parliament that are opposed to this Bill and will seek to delay or block it.  

I can therefore assure you that I will continue to follow developments with the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill closely and support its long-overdue passage into law.