Today I met with Humane Society International (HSI) to discuss their campaign to end trophy hunting.
Trophy hunters pay huge sums of money to kill wild animals for in-home display. They enter their achievements into record books kept by member organizations. Trophy hunting harms conservation by exacerbating the population decline of many imperilled species.
Compared to trophy hunting, wildlife-watching tourism generates far more income to support conservation and provides far more jobs to local people.
That is why I am pleased to be supporting HSI in their campaign. The UK has been a world leader in animal welfare legislation, such as the toughest global ban on ivory, and I will be talking to Ministers to ensure that that UK plays its part in ending this practice.