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

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, pursuant to the Answer of 16 January 2017 to Question 59111, how many CITES import permits were returned used for lion trophies, rather than live lions, in each year since 2010.

Current records show in the calendar year 2015,19 CITES import permits were noted as ‘returned used’ for Lion (Panther leo). ‘Returned used’ is the notation used for a confirmed import into the UK.

Current records show in the calendar year 2016, 3 CITES import permits have been noted as ‘returned used’ for Lion (Panther leo).*

*It should be noted that each CITES import permit has a 6 month lifespan from date of issue to the date of expiry. A complete set of returns for permits issued in 2016 is therefore not available at this time.

It should also be noted that there has only been a requirement for Lion (Panthera leo) hunting trophies to have import permits since the beginning of 2015.