Belgium has banned the import of hunting trophies such as lion claw corkscrews and ashtrays made from elephant paws, and campaigners hope other European countries will follow suit.
In late January, the Belgian parliament banned the import of a variety of rare or endangered animals, including crocodiles, lions, tigers, elephants, rhinos, various turtles, orangutans, lemurs, and northern hair-nosed wombats. passed a resolution to do so.
Belgian Environment Minister Zakia Hattavi said: Reuters The Belgian ban was more symbolic than significant, as licenses could also be issued in other EU countries.
“This is a political signal… because we know that today, on a European scale, few countries have bans as ambitious as Belgium,” she said, adding that Finland and the Netherlands also have bans. , added that France is also working towards it.
In October 2022, the European Parliament called for a ban on imports of trophies derived from species listed in CITES, an international agreement aimed at ensuring that trade in wild flora and fauna does not threaten their survival.
Under EU law, trophies from endangered and rare species require an import permit, and a wider range of wildlife trophies should also be inspected.
Ruud Tombrock, Executive Director International Humanitarian AssociationAccording to animal protection groups, 25,000 animal trophies were imported into the EU between 2014 and 2022, of which around 500 were imported into Belgium.
“Specifically trophies for cheetahs, polar bears and hippos,” he says.
Tombrock said trophy hunting is essential for species conservation and industry claims that local communities benefit are false. Instead, he said, healthy animals were often taken, and the main beneficiaries were foreigners organizing trips and local elites.