Rights, Resources & Livelihoods

7 Reasons a UK Trophy Hunting Import Ban Is a Bad Idea

The proposed UK trophy hunting import ban, though framed as a compassionate morality play, risks doing far more harm than good by substituting Western emotion for African evidence. Across Southern Africa, wildlife is not an abstract ideal but a lived reality requiring active management. Implementing a blanket import ban exposes a deep-seated ‘white savior’ complex and neocolonial undertones in London-based policymaking, where critical decisions are made without consulting those most affected.

When international policies strip away the economic value of wildlife, they do not preserve it. Instead, they dismantle the funding that drives successful conservation and supports rural economies. This high-stakes legislative move threatens the livelihoods of millions of rural Africans, abandoning local communities to bear the heavy costs of conservation entirely alone. Ultimately, understanding these complex dynamics highlights the 7 Reasons a UK Trophy Hunting Import Ban Is a Bad Idea:

  1. It targets the wrong problem

For the species affected, trophy hunting is not the main threat. Habitat loss, land conversion, poaching, and retaliation linked to human-wildlife conflict are far bigger risks — and that is where the focus needs to be.

  1. It could hurt the wildlife it aims to protect

Regulated hunting helps pay for rangers, anti-poaching work, roads, monitoring, and wildlife management. Remove that income, and protection systems weaken. In practice, a ban could do the opposite of what it intends: less funding can mean fewer patrols, more poaching, poorer habitat management, and ultimately less wildlife.

  1. It hurts rural communities

Hunting revenue also supports jobs, household income, and community services such as schools and clinics in remote areas where tourism is often not feasible, and few other economic opportunities exist and removing that income would have devastating impacts on many rural communities.

  1. It can reduce tolerance for dangerous wildlife

Living with elephants, lions, crocodiles, and other wildlife can carry real costs. When benefits disappear but risks remain, support for wildlife can fall, and communities may retaliate against animals that raid crops or kill livestock.

  1. It can lead to land-use change

If people living alongside wildlife are only bearing the costs of coexistence, and see no benefits in return, there is a real risk that animals will be removed, and land converted to farming, livestock, or other uses. That can mean less space for nature.

  1. It ignores African voices

This debate is not happening in a vacuum. Decisions made in London affect people and wildlife thousands of miles away. The communities and governments most affected should be consulted, not treated as an afterthought.

  1. The UK already has strict controls

The UK does not allow trophy imports without checks. In practice, trophies can only be imported where they are legally sourced and where the hunt has demonstrated proven conservation value. A blanket ban would sweep away that targeted approach, and with it the conservation value that the current system can support.

The better question

This debate should not be about what sounds good in Britain. It should be about what works in practice for wildlife, what is fair to people who live with wildlife every day, and what is supported by peer-reviewed evidence?

References:

  • Challender, D. W. S., Cooney, R., Biggs, D., Dickman, A., Milner-Gulland, E. J., Redford, K. H., & Roe, D. (2024). Evaluating key evidence and formulating regulatory alternatives regarding the UK’s Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill. Conservation Science and Practice, 6(10), e13220. https://doi.org/10.1111/csp2.13220
  • Commission Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 of 4 May 2006 laying down detailed rules concerning the implementation of Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97. Retained in UK law post-Brexit. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/eur/2006/865
  • Cooney, R., Freese, C., Dublin, H., Roe, D., Mallon, D., Knight, M., Emslie, R., Pani, M., Booth, V., Mahoney, S., & Buyanaa, C. (2017). The baby and the bathwater: Trophy hunting, conservation and rural livelihoods. Unasylva, 68(249), 3–16. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). https://www.fao.org/3/i7337en/i7337en.pdf
  • Council Regulation (EC) No 338/97 of 9 December 1996 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating trade therein. Retained in UK law post-Brexit.
  • Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (DEFRA). (2021). Ban on the import of hunting trophies: Impact assessment. https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0026/HuntingTrophies(ImportProhibition)BillImpactAssessment.pdf
  • Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES). (2019). Summary for policymakers of the global assessment report on biodiversity and ecosystem services. IPBES Secretariat. https://ipbes.net/globalassessment
  • IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (SULi), CEESP, & SSC. (2016, updated 2023). Informing decisions on trophy hunting: A briefing paper regarding issues to be taken into account when considering restriction of imports of hunting trophies. IUCN.
  • Jaureguiberry, P., Titeux, N., Wiemers, M., Bowler, D. E., Coscieme, L., Golden, A. S., Jacob, U., Takahashi, Y., Settele, J., & Díaz, S. (2022). The direct drivers of recent global anthropogenic biodiversity loss. Science Advances, 8(45), eabm9982. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abm9982
  • Lindsey, P. A., Roulet, P. A., & Romanach, S. S. (2007). Economic and conservation significance of the trophy hunting industry in sub-Saharan Africa. Biological Conservation, 134(4), 455–469. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2006.09.005
  • (2022, February 14). Conflicting attitudes around the trophy hunting ban. https://www.survation.com/conflicting-attitudes-around-the-trophy-hunting-ban
  • Vorhies, F. (2024). Elephant in the Room: Why a Trophy Hunting Ban Would Hurt Conservation and Development. African Wildlife Economy Institute & Institute of Economic Affairs. https://iea.org.uk/publications/elephant-in-the-room/

in Advocacy Activities / African Conservation / Decolonize Conservation / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods / Southern Africa

Misguided Melanie Verwoerd Does Not Speak for Africa: Communities Defend Conservation Rights

The Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa (CLN), representing over 20 million
individuals across twelve Southern African nations, stands as the authentic voice of the
communities engaged in and affected by sustainable conservation practices. CLN operates with
the vision that wildlife resources should directly benefit the rural populations who share their land
with and steward these resources. Trophy hunting, when ethically managed, is integral to this
vision, as it provides essential socio-economic benefits and finances local conservation efforts.
Read More›
in In the Media / Press Releases / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods
The CLN logo tops the title page of the media release.

Rural communities in Botswana concerns over anti-hunting laws in the UK

On 22 February 2024, 17 Community Trusts in Botswana along with the Ngamiland Council of NGOs (NCONGO) expressed their deep concern with a campaign advocating for a ban on hunting trophy imports into the United Kingdom (UK) that will negatively affect their livelihoods and wildlife conservation efforts. These Trusts are democratically elected entities speaking on behalf of their respective communities that live alongside elephants and other wildlife species in Botswana.

Read More›
in Botswana / In the Media / Press Releases / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods / Trophy Hunting
Around 50 people in a meeting room pose for a group photograph.

Communiqué of the Community Conservation Congress held in Windhoek, Namibia

The First Africa Indigenous People & Local Communities Conservation Congress, organised under the theme “We are nature & nature is us”, convened between 25th and 27th of October 2023, brought together Indigenous People and Local Communities (IPLCs) from the five regions of Africa to discuss, debate, and offer ideas on how to implement the Africa Protected Areas Congress (APAC) Kigali Call to Action and the Kigali IPLC Declaration.

The Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa proudly hosted this even in Windhoek, Namibia. Read the full Communiqué from the event in English here, in French here. The press release for the event in English here, in French here. 

in African Conservation / In the Media / Press Releases / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods

WATCH: Interview on the Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conservation Congress

Dr Rodgers Lubilo and Malidadi Langa discuss the main issues that were addressed during the first-ever African Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities Conservation Congress. Land rights, resource use rights, human wildlife conflict and building an African Alliance to amplify African voices are among the highlights. We will continue to work together with our partners across Africa to create a movement for conservation that truly benefits African people.

 

in Blog / Community Voices / Human Wildlife Conflict / In the Media / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods
Six people posing in front of the UN emblem.

CLN sees opportunities at the United Nations Permanent Forum for Indigenous Issues

As the Chairperson of Community Leaders Network of Southern Africa, I participated in the recent 22nd Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues (UNPFII) held in New York, USA. It was a real eye opener for me, as I started to appreciate the challenges, abuse and human rights infringements that over 6.7 million indigenous peoples around the world have had to endure. 

Read More›
in Advocacy Activities / Botswana / Namibia / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods / South Africa / Tanzania

Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill debate

Quote from Sir Bill Wiggin during the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill debate in the UK House of Commons – 25 Nov 2022

“We need to appreciate what it is like to live with large and dangerous or endangered species. We cannot expect people in rural Africa to have the same views on this subject as the voters in, say, Crawley. That is why telling Africans—however we choose to cushion the message—how to manage their wildlife is fundamentally wrong, post-colonial and possibly racist, and I cannot stand by and allow this to go uncriticised”

in In the Media / Rights, Resources & Livelihoods