The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting has written to Rt Hon Lisa Nandy MP, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport, asking the Government to take urgent action against ‘animal snuff porn’ websites as part of its Online Safety strategy.
In our letter, we pointed out that anyone in the UK – including a child – with an internet connection can currently access or be exposed to extremely disturbing images and written content glorifying torture, mutilation and killing of animals for entertainment.
The UK signed the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in April 1990. In September 2023, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child issued General Comment 26 in support of Article 19 of the Convention stating: “Children must be protected from all forms of physical and psychological violence and from exposure to violence, such as domestic violence or violence inflicted on animals”.
Professor Geoff Beattie – a psychologist who has authored a major study of trophy hunters’ minds – said:
“These websites display extremely disturbing images of the killing of animals and accounts of their death in graphic and gruesome detail. They also send out incredibly worrying implicit messages that such brutal killing is fun and to be celebrated, and those that engage in this cruel activity are to be admired.
“The effects on children are likely to be profound. Children can become desensitised to images of horror, and view it as normal, acceptable event. The long-term implications of this for their own attitudes and behaviour in the future are likely to be significant.”
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