Open letter to the British Government

(Original text)

Dear SCI Members, Hunters, nature and animal lovers,

As you might have heard, the UK parliament might introduce during their spring session a bill to implement the toughest bans in the world on the import of hunting trophies in the United Kingdom. You might also know that in march 2019 a Swiss Parliamentarian proposed a motion to the Swiss parliament to vote on a similar issue. These types of motions/bills will become more and more publicized by politicians because they win popular votes through misinformation, shocking and very emotional pictures on social media. Few politicians will ever defend the cause of sustainable wild life management through hunting as it will not bring many votes in Europe. Europeans are more and more cut off reality of the country side. Europeans believe that animals are all Walt Disney characters that cows drink milk and that meat comes packed in plastic. Sadly the reality is not what it is. Proper wild life management includes killing, shooting or culling animals, even protected ones.

SCI Helvetia has gathered information from Africa and has asked a local African journalist with 28 years of professional communication and PR experience - he is president,  chairman and board member of local African charitable wildlife protection and environment organizations - to give his opinion on the bill. Click here or on the button below to read the article. Please read it carefully and share it with city people, non-hunters and any other anti-hunting organizations. With this article we are simply asking to the UK Government to answer the following five simple questions:

1. What other income has the British Government planned for locals who no longer will benefit from the arrival of British hunters?  Such a bill directly interferes with local politics in Africa and other countries.
2. Has the British Government planned to subsidize photo safaris to continue to mobilize local interest and make up for the shortfall in funds for schools, education and poaching surveillance?
3. What scientific studies has the British Government undertaken to ensure that the new bill is not detrimental to the sustainability of wildlife in all developing countries?
4. The World-Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), IUCN and CITES clearly do not support such import bans. All these organization clearly explain that, if strictly controlled, trophy hunting can be an effective conservation tool even for threatened species. A scientific study published by UICN in April 2016 analyses 10 case studies including the Polo bear in Canada and Rhino in Africa. Each study shows that trophy hunting is necessary to preserve them. Will the UK Government take responsibility if these species completely disappear following the import ban?
5. Once the ban is accepted is the UK Government ready to do the same with the Coal industry in developed countries? Ban the listing of Coal companies on the UK stock exchange?

We hope you will enjoy reading this article. First for Nature, First for Hunters!