• E-mail
• Print
• Comment
• Font Size
• Digg
• del.icio.us
• Discuss article

Trade Ban on Trophies of Slaughter; Blitz on the Sale of Big-Game Spoils Driving Species Towards Extinction

Posted on: Monday, 16 January 2006, 18:00 CST

By CHRISTOPHER LEAKE

THEY have been the mainstay of country auctions for decades, if not centuries. But now police have been ordered to clamp down on the sale of big-game trophies under a Government blitz to protect endangered animals.

Those selling family heirlooms such as mounted tigers' heads now face up to five years' imprisonment under tough laws designed to combat the cruel trade driving species to the brink of extinction.

Biodiversity Minister Jim Knight is determined to stamp out the market for the spoils of hunting, and has given police new powers of arrest, search and seizure to combat the problem.

The crackdown could extend to those dealing in rare butterflies mounted in cases, and to the Chinese medicine industry, which claims to use products from endangered animals. But it will not mean the confiscation of any hunting trophies simply hanging in homes.

Among the threatened species the Government wants to protect is the chiru, a Tibetan antelope from which shahtoosh, an extremely fine wool, is obtained.

Shahtoosh scarves sell for about Pounds 3,000 on the black market.

Mr Knight who last week warned Celebrity Big Brother contestant Pete Burns he could face jail if his fur coat was made from gorilla pelt, as he claimed said: 'Trading in critically endangered species and their products can only put these animals in even greater peril.

'Even a regulated trade in products such as gorilla skins may encourage the illegal trade that poses such a great threat to these amazing creatures.

'We cannot in good conscience tell people [in the Third World] who are struggling to feed their families that they shouldn't trade in the products of endangered species if we in Europe are freely buying and selling them.

'Last year, we introduced tough new penalties for people convicted of trading in endangered species.' Animal welfare activists welcomed the crackdown. David Cowdrey, a campaign director for the World Wide Fund For Nature, said: 'We need strong legislation to protect the world's most endangered wildlife.' Thousands of trophies made from the remains of endangered species are illegally imported into the UK every year, from leopard skins and ivory jewellery to stuffed wild animals, and even mandolins made from tortoise shells.

Mr Cowdrey, added: 'Often, tourists do not think they are doing anything wrong by buying these goods. So we are working with Customs, the police and the Government to stop this trade.'

Online hunting axed after outcry

THE world's first online hunting service, which allowed people to kill wildlife by pressing a button on their computer, has been banned after protests from animal welfare groups.

The site, launched last year, offered long-distance hunting via the internet.

Animals roaming free on a 360-acre ranch near San Antonio, Texas, were filmed by video cameras connected to a powerful remote- controlled rifle.

For a fee of Pounds 107 for an imported North African Barbary sheep or Pounds 1,350 for a deer or antelope, armchair hunters could kill their prey with a click of the mouse. They could then pay for the carcass to be shipped to them, either as a trophy or for food.

There was outrage after The Mail on Sunday published articles about the Live-Shot.com website, run by American gun enthusiast John Lockwood.

Now, Texas and a dozen other states have outlawed the practice, with penalties of up to a year in jail and a Pounds 1,500 fine.

Although the site is still operating, subscribers are now restricted to firing at a target range.

Rosa Hill, of the International Fund for Animal Welfare, said: 'We hope this sends a clear message that the internet is not a lawless domain where animals can be subjected to unethical and potentially inhuman treatment.'

Source: Mail on Sunday; London (UK)

More News in this Category