GREEN MEPs Jean Lambert (London) and Keith Taylor (South-East England) have launched a bid to ban ‘canned hunting ‘ – the practice of shooting captive lions and other wildlife for trophies.<\/p>\n
They have asked the European Commission to ban the import into the EU of any such trophies, which have increased in popularity since hunting lions and other endangered wildlife has been outlawed in many countries.<\/p>\n
According to UK-based charity Lion Aid, as many as 8,000 lions are being bred in captivity for holiday-makers to shoot with bows and arrows and even pistols in South Africa alone.<\/p>\n
\u201cSo-called ‘canned hunting’ \u2013 the practice of shooting captive-bred animal for trophies \u2013 is an abhorrent and sordid business, and should be banned immediately,\u201d said London MEP Jean Lambert.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhile it is mainly happening outside the EU we can’t directly put a stop to it, but we can ban the import of any such ‘trophies’ that result to discourage EU holiday-makers from taking part in this unacceptably-cruel activity.\u201d<\/p>\n
South-East England’s Green MEP Keith Taylor, who has co-signed the request to ban the import of canned hunting ‘trophies’ into the EU, said: \u201cWe must try to stop the breeding of mammals simply for holiday-makers to kill for fun: banning the import of these ‘trophies’ is something we can do almost immediately.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs a recent World Trade Organisation ruling observed, it is perfectly lawful to restrict imports on moral grounds.\u201d<\/p>\n