SNP MP Martyn Day has condemned pro-hunting “unelected peers” in the House of Lords for “thwarting” the Hunting Trophies Bill.
The MP for Linlithgow and East Falkirk joined animal charity Four Paws UK and a cross-party group of other parliamentarians outside Westminster to condemn the Lords for their efforts to “talk the bill out”.
The bill seeks to ban those hunting abroad from bringing animals’ heads and bodies back into the country to display in their homes – a practice which is currently permitted by the law.
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They urged the government to dedicate more time to the bill in the chamber, after the Lords proposed as many as 62 amendments for consideration of the Committee of the Whole House – making consideration of the bill an unwieldy and time-consuming process.
Those opposing the bill also refused to group their amendments together, meaning each one had to be debated individually even though a number of them were very similar in nature.
This meant that the draft legislation ran out of parliamentary time, and so will not become law unless approved by the House of Commons and the Lords before this parliamentary session ends on November 7.
This comes despite public polling commissioned by Born Free in 2022 which revealed that 85% of the public back a hunting trophy ban, with support being consistent across regions, political persuasions and age groups.
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Day said: “It’s disappointing that unelected peers thwarted the Hunting Trophies Bill.
“Trophy hunting has wide-ranging implications, not least the risk of extinction of magnificent creatures and their natural habitat.
“As someone who cares deeply about the environment and wildlife, I find killing for sport an unacceptable and abhorrent practice. The practice of trophy hunting is abhorrent to many, including me; it must stop.”
British trophy hunters shoot hundreds of protected and endangered animals each year. This includes species such as lions, elephants, giraffes and polar bears. Globally, a trophy hunter kills an animal every three minutes.
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