- Members of Zimbabwe’s CAMPFIRE Association have imported a Scottish hunting trophy into the country to highlight Britain’s double standards in continuing to export hunting trophies while threatening to ban their import from Africa (see pictures)
- The move comes as a Hunting Trophies Import Ban Bill is reintroduced to Parliament for the 5th time by Conservative MP, David Reed
- Protest coincides with new polling which reveals calls for hunting reflect public prejudice towards African communities, fuelled by media celebrities like Ricky Gervais
Members of a rural community group in Zimbabwe have imported a Scottish stag’s head into the country to protest what it sees as British hypocrisy in denouncing African trophy hunting.
Members of the CAMPFIRE Association group, which advocates for conservation programmes that balance the needs of people and wildlife, imported the red deer ‘twelve-pointer’ from a Scottish taxidermist. The stag is one of thousands of estimated hunting trophies exported by the UK every year, including several species of deer, foxes, birds and badgers.
The protest comes as legislation banning the import of hunting trophies is reintroduced to the House of Commons for the fifth time, in a Private Member’s Bill sponsored by Conservative MP, David Reed. Previous bills have been fiercely opposed by six countries across Southern Africa, who have described the UK’s position as racist and neo-colonial in nature.
Polling conducted by research group Savanta in July 2024 found that of the 4,002 Britons surveyed, 83% would ban the importation of hunting trophies, even if it jeopardised the economic security of rural communities in Africa. This reflects the view of a small number of media celebrities such as Ricky Gervais and Joanna Lumley, who have repeatedly called on African countries to ban trophy hunting, while ignoring the practice in the UK. The Savanta survey further revealed that 86% of respondents thought the UK should also ban the export of UK hunting trophies, if it seeks the ban the importation of trophies from Africa.
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Dr. Shylock Muyengwa, Programmes Director at Resource Africa, said: “The same old prejudice, the same hypocrisy — British politicians are at it again with another counterproductive bill, marking the fifth attempt to ban trophy hunting imports in three years. When will they learn that Africa knows best how to manage its wildlife? When will then learn to respect and consult our governments?”
Trophy hunting provides critical revenue for African conservation and local communities. For example, trophy hunting revenue conserves more land in Africa than National Parks. Import bans in the Global North undermine this income, putting the conservation of endangered species at risk, along with the livelihoods of impoverished Africans. This science is accepted by the UK’s own independent advisers on international conservation, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, who advised the previous government against a blanket ban.
The potential impact of such bans has worsened due to the deadly drought in Southern Africa, the worst in 100 years. The United Nations warned last week that one in three Zimbabweans is enduring a “hunger crisis”, in a country where it has not rained for 15 months. In response, the country has taken to culling a small, sustainable number of elephants to provide food for starving communities.
