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A lion notoriously killed for pleasure was recalled as proposals to ban the import of endangered species’ body parts were backed by MPs.
Environment minister Trudy Harrison told the Commons: “Actually, dare I say that Cecil the lion has not died in vain.
“It is an emotional day for all of us for very many reasons.”
Cecil was 13 and living in a Zimbabwean national park when he was shot by an American big game hunter in 2015.
The killing caused international outrage, with criticism from MPs across the political spectrum.
Tory backbenchers Sir Bill Wiggin and Sir Christopher Chope tabled amendments which campaigners said would weaken the Hunting Trophies (Import Prohibition) Bill.
The Government accepted two of their changes, establishing an advisory board and limiting powers to extend the banned list.
Sir Bill said: “Removing trophy hunting without providing a suitable alternative of revenue will expose those underfunded protected areas to further risks such as poaching.”
He called the Bill “a neo-colonial attempt to control conservation management programmes” in Africa.
But Conservative Henry Smith, who tabled the private member’s Bill, said: “To be clear, the territorial extent of this Bill is Great Britain.”
He added: “This is about the values that we in Britain have, that we do not want to be part of a trade in endangered species’ body parts.
“We are not telling other countries how to run their trade, or their conservation or hunting policies, although we may have a range of personal opinions on this.”
The Bill, which has been backed by celebrities like Dame Joanna Lumley and Charles Dance, will now face further scrutiny in the House of Lords.
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