Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what his policy is on issuing import permits to hunting trophies of species listed in Appendix I of CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Fauna and Flora).

The Animal and Plant Health Agency, an executive agency of Defra, is responsible for issuing import permits for hunting trophies. Appendix I species are the most strictly regulated species under CITES and import permits will only be issued if the criteria set out in the UK Wildlife Trade Regulations are met, including that the import does not have a detrimental impact on the conservation status of a species.

The Government committed to banning the import of hunting trophies in its manifesto and we will deliver on this. Defra is engaging with relevant stakeholders to ensure that we can deliver a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern in the most effective way.