Jenny Riddell-Carpenter

It is an honour to respond to this important debate under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I start by thanking my hon. Friend the Member for Eltham and Chislehurst (Clive Efford) for securing it and all hon. Members for their thoughtful contributions. We are used to hearing different views from different sides of the House, but I have heard the overwhelming consensus in the room today. This is an issue that understandably generates strongly held views, both within Parliament and beyond, and raises important questions about the role that the United Kingdom should play in helping to protect biodiversity around the world. I therefore welcome the opportunity to clearly restate the Government’s position, which, as my hon. Friend rightly acknowledged, formed a clear part of our manifesto commitment in 2024. The Government have made a clear commitment to ban the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern, and we remain committed to delivering on that promise. The United Kingdom has a long history of championing global action to protect endangered species, demonstrated most recently by our chairing of the standing committee of the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora—CITES—our leadership and engagement at the convention on biological diversity COP, and our more recent work under the UN convention against transnational organised crime to tackle the serious and organised crime that drives the illegal wildlife trade. Our approach to hunting trophy imports forms part of that wider commitment to protecting biodiversity and ensuring that international wildlife trade does not undermine the conservation of threatened species.