The number of animals killed by trophy hunters is staggering: in total, 1.7m trophies were legally traded worldwide between 2004-14, around 200,000 of them from threatened species. Of these, 2,500 were brought home by British hunters, including hundreds of heads, feet, tails, hides, tusks and horns from some of the most endangered species, including rhinos and elephants.

Elephants were being poached in their tens of thousands each year to cater to the global demand for ivory, yet they were still deemed fair game for trophy hunters.

Lions fared the worst, hit with the biggest increase in trophy hunting among the big five since 2004: around 13,800 lion trophies were traded over the subsequent decade. Lion numbers plunged 43% between 1993 and 2014. Cecil’s death in 2015 prompted the UK government to conduct a study on the impact of trophy hunting, but no further action was taken and lion trophies continued to be imported in the following years.

Giraffe populations have crashed by 40% in the past 30 years. In 2018, two subspecies were listed as critically endangered by the International Union for Conservation of Nature list. In the US, hunters brought back trophies from 3,563 giraffes between 2006 and 2015.

When it comes to saving the last of Earth’s megafauna, it is not only a question of conservation but a moral imperative. Animals that once teemed in their millions have been largely wiped out, part of an anthropocentric extinction event that has claimed 60% of the Earth’s fauna in the past 50 years.

Today, the last of these animals continue to be relentlessly killed for their body parts to feed the demand for trinkets, bushmeat and fake medicinal cures. But even at this late hour, it’s not too late to save them and put in place the protections they need to recover and thrive in the wild.

Banning the import of hunting trophies will send a clear message to the international community that there is no place for trophy hunting in this day and age.

We hope the British government will act quickly to implement such a ban and will lead the way in urging other countries to do the same. As with the Ivory Act, the government can expect full and enthusiastic support from the British public for this move.