BRUSSELS – In a major victory for wildlife conservation and animal welfare, the Belgian parliament today unanimously endorsed Zakia Khattabi’s bill banning the import of hunting trophies with the Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and Green Deal. They cast their votes and made a landmark decision. Endangered species invade the country. The historic move, nearly two years after Congress first called for such a ban, would protect respected species such as lions and rhinos.
The vote, approved unanimously by the Belgian Chamber of Deputies, found that 91% of Belgians oppose trophy hunting, and 88% oppose trophy hunting, according to a 2020 Ipsos poll commissioned by Humane Society International/Europe. This is consistent with supporting the ban on imports of .
Before the ban, Belgium imported trophies from endangered species such as hippos, cheetahs and polar bears. The new law would halt the importation of hunting trophies from many species that are currently threatened by trade or could become threatened unless trade is restricted. All species listed in Annex A of European Regulation 338/97 on the Protection of Species of Wild Fauna and Flora, including jaguars, cheetahs, leopards, some brown bears, Cape Mountain zebras and chimpanzees, and African elephants, will be protected by the new bill. , certain species in Annex B of the Regulation (EC) No 865/2006 regulating the trade in protected wild plants, such as African lions, southern white rhinos, hippos and argali sheep, which are also listed in Annex XIII of Regulation (EC) No 865/2006. Included with seeds. Fauna. The new law goes beyond Congress’s 2022 resolution by expanding Appendix B protection to more species than the six originally covered by the resolution.
Zakir Khattabi, Minister of Climate, Environment, Sustainable Development and the Green Deal, said: “The approval of my legislative project in the plenary session this Thursday will give legal basis to the resolution that Congress unanimously adopted on March 24, 2022 to protect these endangered species. It is urgent and necessary!”
Chris Verduigt (Flemish Socialist) MP, who initiated the legislative proposal to ban the import of hunting trophies, said: “Our country will finally ban the import of hunting trophies of endangered species. Protecting these species is not compatible with importing them for trophy hunting purposes. We are pleased to see it included in the law and hope it will be a source of inspiration for many other countries.”
The International/European Humanitarian Association, which has championed this cause for many years and worked closely with Belgian MPs to garner parliamentary support, congratulates the adoption of this important bill, which has successfully brought about a complex legislative process. To do. Animal protection charities worked with MPs for more than two years to secure the import ban, which first resulted in a unanimously supported parliamentary resolution in 2022 and then a federal government resolution in July 2023. This resulted in a legislative proposal approved by the Council of Ministers.
“Today the Belgian Parliament is making history for animals and demonstrating its continued and principled stand against the senseless killing of endangered wild animals,” said HSI/Europe Executive Director. Root Tombrock said. “With this decision, Belgium has established itself as a leader in the protection of biodiversity and endangered species. Other European countries have similarly taken action against trophy hunting by banning the import of such memorabilia. We believe that we are prepared to take a strong stance on the protection of endangered and protected species, reflecting the views of the peoples of European Union member states who share the determination to carefully protect animals and biodiversity. The time has come for an EU-wide ban on imports of hunting trophies to prevent the fragmentation of the EU single market.”
The Belgian ban sends a positive signal in support of the adoption of a similar ban in neighboring France, where a bipartisan parliamentary bill proposal to ban the import of protected species hunting trophies is currently in parliament. It is being deliberated. The ban was proposed by ecologist Sandra Legault MP, with support from Renaissance Party MP Corinne Vignon, chair of the Parliamentary Research Group on the Condition and Welfare of Animals.
Before implementation, adopted Belgian laws must be promulgated with Royal Assent. The text will then be published in the “Moniteur Belge” and will take effect on the date specified in the text or, if not specified, 10 days after publication.
Download hunting trophy photos and campaign materials for trophy hunting here.
background:
- Trophy hunting of endangered species poses a serious threat to conservation and the world’s natural heritage. Trophy hunters prefer to kill the largest and most impressive animals, and the loss of that animal can cause a cascading decline in the population. Many of the species targeted, including African elephants, rhinos and leopards, are at risk of extinction and play an important role in maintaining healthy ecosystems and biodiversity.
- According to the HSI/EU report, the EU is the second largest importer of hunting trophies after the United States, with an average of 3,000 trophies imported between 2014 and 2018. The EU was also the largest importer of cheetah trophies with 297. Cheetah trophies imported into the EU between 2014 and 2018. Top 5 species imported into the EU as trophies: Hartmann Mountain Zebra (3,119), Chacma Baboon (1,751), American Black Bear (1,415), Brown Bear (1,056), African Elephant (952),
- Belgium is the 13th largest importer of internationally protected hunting trophies in Europe.
- In May 2016, the Netherlands was listed in Annex A of European Regulation 338/97 on the protection of species of wild fauna and flora by regulating the trade in species of wild fauna and flora and on the protection of endangered species of wild animals. A ban on the import of over 200 species of hunting trophies has been enacted. extinction. The import ban also applies to the Appendix B species: white rhino, hippo, mouflon (caucasian wild sheep), lion and polar bear. A total of 200 species of animals are affected by the ban on import permits.
- France imposed a ban on imports of lion hunting trophies in 2015. In 2023, a registration bill was tabled that aims to “suspend the issuance of import permits for hunting trophies of certain endangered species.”
- Imports of hunting trophies into Finland were restricted from June 2023. A new nature conservation law bans the importation of individuals or parts of the world’s most endangered animals from countries outside the EU as trophies, which are under threat from international trade. It is included.
- In Germany, Environment Minister Steffi Lemke (Green Party) announced her intention to restrict the import of hunting trophies from protected species. In 2022, Germany ended its membership in the International Council for the Conservation of Game and Wildlife, the organization that promotes trophy hunting.
- In 2022, Italy introduced a bill that would ban the import, export, and re-export of hunting trophies from animals protected by CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species). After the fall of the government and elections in 2022, the same bill was submitted to parliament again.
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Media Contact: Cassie Bodin-Duval, Humane Society International/Europe International Media Relations Coordinator, cbodinduval@hsi.org. +32 469 149 469