Sir Ranulph Fiennes: "Here's how people in Shropshire can help me end trophy hunting"

In 2015, there was worldwide outrage over the killing of a lion by an American trophy hunter. Minnesota dentist Walter Palmer shot Cecil with a bow and arrow, and left him to die – so he could collect a special industry award.

But British trophy hunters are shooting lions too. Since Cecil was killed, they have killed an estimated 100 lions. 

The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting has now discovered that they are also shooting cheetahs - Africa’s most endangered big cat. There are only 6,500 cheetahs left in the wild. They have vanished from over 90 per cent of their range.

Yet Government civil servants are handing out import permits to British hunters who kill them - so they can put their bodies on display and brag about it to their friends.

The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting - of which I am Ambassador - has tracked down dozens of British trophy hunters. Many of them are shooting endangered animals - elephants, rhinos, polar bears, leopards, and hippos.

One said he enjoyed having a few beers in the evening and shooting monkeys out of trees. Another revealed he took his 9-year-old son along for his birthday. He shot so many animals he earned a nickname: “The Sniper”.

Others talk gleefully about the appalling injuries they inflict on their victims.

Some are responsible for staggering numbers of kills. A property developer has killed an estimated 650 animals. He has won multiple awards from the same American group as Walter Palmer – including one for killing animals from 125 different species.

A London woman has been voted the world’s top female trophy hunter by the American NRA. She too has killed hundreds of animals, including some of the world’s largest lions and elephants.

A businessman says trophy hunting is so addictive it is “like mainlining on heroin”. Among his proudest trophies is a black rhino – a critically endangered animal.

A TV presenter admitted he shot a hippo – to use as bait to lure leopards. He killed an elephant too. Its feet have been turned into a magazine rack.

UK companies are making a killing – literally - selling animals for British trophy hunters to shoot. They include captive-bred lions they can ‘hunt’ in enclosures. There are ‘package deals’ where hunters can shoot multiple animals - such as tame lionesses, giraffes and rhinos.

Virtually every party in Parliament says it supports a ban on hunters’ trophies. A Conservative bill passed unanimously in the Commons – but was delayed in the Lords and ran out of time when the election was called.

Labour made a manifesto pledge last year to ban hunting trophies once and for all. Frustratingly, though, it now won’t say when it will actually do it. 

Meanwhile, Britain is fast getting left behind. More and more countries are implementing bans. Even the US - despite its powerful hunting lobby - prohibits trophies of endangered animals such as cheetahs. British hunters, meanwhile, are still allowed to bring the bodies of these beautiful creatures back to the UK - so they can show off.

The 10th anniversary of Cecil’s death is almost upon us. Now is surely the time to bring this cruel, colonial-era industry to an end. Please ask your local MP to help make it happen - without further delay.

You can sign the petition and find out more at bantrophyhunting.org