Liz Saville Roberts – 2016 Parliamentary Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

The below Parliamentary question was asked by Liz Saville Roberts on 2016-09-14.

To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what assessment her Department has made of the effect on conservation in the country of origin of the importation of lion trophies into the UK.

Dr Thérèse Coffey

We have not carried out an assessment of the effect of lion imports into the UK on wider conservation in the country of origin. However as part of the application process for an import permit, we assess the impact of lion imports into the UK on the conservation of the species. The UK’s scientific advisors for fauna, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee, consider for each lion imported into the UK whether the import would be harmful to the conservation of the species or the extent of its range. An import permit is only issued if the trade is not considered to be detrimental to the survival of the species in the wild.