All trophy hunting needs to stop. It’s just as wrong to kill a reindeer for kicks as it is to kill a rhino. We don’t have the right to murder living creatures for entertainment.”

Dame Judi Dench and Ricky Gervais are among a slew of celebrities urging MPs to vote for an unprecedented trophy hunting ban on 17th March.

The government bill, called Sally’s Law, is named after a tiger cub, who was rescued from trophy hunting in South Africa during an investigation by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting.

Liam Gallagher, Kate Moss, Peter Egan, and Ed Sheeran have also backed the campaign and added their signatures to the petition.

Commenting on the proposed ban, Sir David Attenborough said: “For species such as elephants and rhinos to be fighting for their existence due to human exploitation and interference is unacceptable, and we must do everything within our power to turn this dire situation around.

 “We are responsible for the problem, and we must be held responsible for the solution. It will indeed be a very sad indictment on our species if rhinos and elephants are no more, and that day will come sooner than we think if we do not take action.”

Ban trophy hunting

Ricky Gervais has been a very passionate and outspoken animal advocate for a number of years.

Calling British trophy hunters “the most ruthless of the lot,” he said: “They joke about having a few beers and shooting monkeys. They laugh about shooting cats out of trees. They brag about luring leopards with bait so they can shoot them at point-blank range.

“They celebrate blasting big holes out of zebras and killing some of the world’s biggest lions, elephants, and rhinos.”

He added: “All trophy hunting needs to stop. It’s just as wrong to kill a reindeer for kicks as it is to kill a rhino. We don’t have the right to murder living creatures for entertainment.”

The UK business of trophy hunting

Over the last four decades, nearly 5,000 trophies of animals classified as endangered by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species, have been brought onto British soil.

Furthermore, many British companies operate trophy hunting ‘holidays’ in Africa. For example, Hunter Surrey-born Carl Knight heads Take Aim Safaris and has admitted to having personally gone on more than 400 trophy hunts.

These companies have killed some of the world’s most endangered animals, including rhinos, cheetahs, elephants, and polar bears.

9 out of 10 Brits vote in favour of the ban

However, growing public sentiment is against trophy hunting. A recent poll showed that nine out of 10 Brits want their MPs to cancel their constituency plans and get to Parliament to vote in favour of the ban.

The founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, Eduardo Goncalves, said: “Many people are shocked to learn trophy hunting still goes on. Survation’s results reflect people’s clear views on this issue.

“It’s critical that people encourage their local MP to attend the House of Commons on March 17th to enact the world’s strictest legislation and help prevent the brutal killing of innocent animals.”

The bill, if passed, would be the toughest legislation ever implemented by any government in the world and would shock trophy hunters everywhere.

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Mohsina Dodhiya

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