Elephant ears and lion bones among hunting trophies imported into the UK

Exclusive: body parts of endangered animals among those imported through legal loophole

Patrick Greenfield

Thu 21 Mar 2019 12.43 GMTLast modified on Thu 21 Mar 2019 18.30 GMT

Lion bones, leopard skulls and an ottoman chair’s elephant leather were among the body parts of endangered animals imported into the UK by trophy hunters through a loophole in international law in 2018, the Guardian can reveal.

The government is facing renewed calls to ban trophy hunting imports of endangered species after 74 rare animal body parts were legally brought into the country by hunters last year, including hippopotamus teeth, elephant ears and crocodile skins.

Campaigners have said the African lion parts imported from South Africa last year probably came from lion farms, where animals are bred specifically for trophy hunters and to meet rising demand for traditional medicine ingredients in Asian markets.

Two full mounted taxidermised animals, four skulls and two rug mounts were among 12 African lion parts imported into the UK using the trophy hunting exception in the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora (Cites) in 2018, according to data obtained from the Animal and Plant Health Agency under a freedom of information request.

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