Horror images show vile souvenirs created by trophy hunters from holiday kills
Footstools made from elephant feet and slippers made from bear paws are just some of the macabre products made as a result of sickening trophy hunting holidays.
Images of the gruesome and senseless souvenirs will be part of an exhibition shown to MPs later this month to highlight why a UK import ban on hunting trophies - a Labour Government manifesto commitment - is desperately needed. The exhibition, titled 'Still Life', showcases 35 powerful photographs by award-winning wildlife photographer Britta Jaschinski of hunting trophies - when hunters slaughter threatened and endangered animals simply for fun and bragging rights. The objects in the photos, which include stuffed lion heads, were seized by authorities in the UK and USA for not having the correct paperwork.
But currently it is legal for British hunters to travel abroad to kill animals and bring back trophies just like these—a cruel injustice that the Mirror and Humane World for Animals is campaigning to end - with a licence. Senior wildlife campaigns manager Nicola White, said the 'compelling photographs illustrate the tragic waste of animals' lives in this cruel, outdated and damaging industry.
She said: 'How much longer must animals continue to suffer and die at the hands of British trophy hunters, to be turned into mundane objects such as bottle openers, pencil holders and rugs? Wildlife trade data shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023 with dozens of trophies from animals including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah shipped to our shores. With strong public demand for an end to Britain's role in trophy hunting, the UK Government must deliver its manifesto commitment to ban imports of hunting trophies.'
The Labour Government committed to banning imports of hunting trophies in its 2024 manifesto, but so far has not made any progress. A Private Members' Bill sponsored by David Reed MP, the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill, is due its Second Reading in the House of Commons on 13th June.
The latest wildlife trade data from CITES shows that the number of hunting trophies from endangered animals imported to the UK increased significantly in 2023, hitting an alarming post-Brexit high. Trophies, such as skins and stuffed body parts, from 39 animals—including lions, elephants, a brown bear, a leopard, a hippo and a cheetah—were shipped to the UK in 2023.
This year marks 10 years since Cecil the lion suffered for over 10 hours following his wounding by crossbow in 2015, before finally being put out of his misery. Yet the diabolical practice of trophy hunting continues, and trips to kill endangered animals are sold by hunting tour companies here in the UK.
Last month the Mirror revealed how trips to slaughter majestic creatures including lions, zebras and leopards where being sold from the Stalking Show which took place in Staffordshire. Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: 'British trophy hunters have turned elephant feet into magazine racks, and their skins into rifle cases.
"Trophy hunters also collect the trunks, ears and tails of elephants, the penises of bears and seals, bear paws and worse. Trophy hunting is an evil form of fetishism. They are like serial killers who keep the body parts of their victims as trinkets.
'It's a sick and dangerous sport that needs to be shut down. Our government keeps saying it will ban hunting trophies, but then refuses to say when. It even refuses to publish a timetable. It will soon be the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion. The government should impose an immediate moratorium on these sick souvenirs.'
A Defra spokesperson said: "The Government was elected on a mandate to ban the import of hunting trophies - that is exactly what we will do.'
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