Yorkshire's Mark Sewards MP joins national push to end trophy hunting imports at Parliament rally

Mark Sewards MP, who represents Leeds South West and Morley, has backed renewed calls to ban the import of hunting trophies to the UK, during a powerful rally at the Houses of Parliament and Downing Street marking the tenth anniversary of the death of Cecil the Lion.

The packed meeting, held in the Jubilee Room on Tuesday, brought together a cross-party coalition of politicians, conservationists and celebrities to urge the UK Government to finally deliver on its long-standing promise to ban hunting trophies.

Hosted jointly by the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and wildlife charity LionAid, the event featured impassioned speeches and hard-hitting data about the ongoing destruction of endangered wildlife for so-called “sport”.

Eduardo Gonçalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, delivered a stark address to the room, saying:

“It would have been bad enough if Cecil was just a horrible one-off. He wasn’t. Since Cecil was killed, 10,000 more lions have been shot by trophy hunters. Every year, tens of thousands of endangered animals are gunned down for so-called sport. We are in an age of utter insanity. What are we doing killing so many wild animals?!”

Gonçalves, who marked the anniversary with the release of three explosive new books, Mainlining on Heroin, 20 Elephants in 75 Minutes, and Shoot One Lion: Get One FREE, also took time to thank Mark Sewards MP for his support.

“I’m very grateful to Mark for standing up for wildlife and backing this campaign. His support sends a strong message that our political leaders are listening, and that they are ready to act to stop this cruelty once and for all,” he said.

The books, which expose the global trophy hunting trade and name several British hunters, feature celebrity forewords from Dr Jane Goodall, Priscilla Presley and Chris Packham.

Opening the event, Conservative MP Sir Roger Gale, former chair of the All-Party Parliamentary Group to Ban Trophy Hunting, said:

“The killing of Cecil should never have happened, and it should never have been allowed to happen again.”

A heartfelt video message from Dr Jane Goodall was played to the room, urging MPs to “renew their efforts” and slamming the lack of progress:

“The promises to ban trophy imports have not been kept. I understand these things take time, but a moratorium could be announced literally today.”

Also speaking at the event was Baroness Sue Hayman, Minister for Animal Welfare at DEFRA, who assured the audience she was “genuinely pushing for change” and “deeply cares” about the issue.

Christine McSween of LionAid issued a stark warning, citing new figures that show 79% of Africa has now lost all of its lions, with only around 13,000 left in the wild — down from 200,000 in the 1970s.

The emotional highlight of the event came from TV presenter Chris Tarrant, who told attendees: “When I saw those gruesome pictures [of Cecil’s killer], I don’t think I was that surprised. But when I heard that in Britain we do it as well, I was genuinely shocked. I’m normally a very proud Englishman, but I am ashamed of what we are still doing.”

Activist and former Paralympian Heather Mills echoed that frustration, asking: “What are the blocks? Why hasn’t the ban happened yet?”

She added: “I told the taxi driver on the way here that I was speaking out against trophy hunting – and he couldn’t believe it was still a thing.”

Following the speeches, a delegation including the MP, Gonçalves, McSween, Masai leader Boniface Mpario, and Ban Trophy Hunting’s Jane Evans marched to Downing Street to deliver a LionAid petition nearing one million signatures, along with an open letter signed by high-profile supporters including Sir Michael Caine, Catherine Zeta Jones, Rod Stewart, Ozzy Osbourne, Liam Gallagher, Cliff Richard, Dr Jane Goodall, Priscilla Presley and Chris Packham.

Gonçalves concluded: “The last time we lost a big cat was the sabre-tooth tiger – and that was in prehistoric times.”

Eduardo Gonçalves’ books are available on Amazon.

To find out more about the campaign, visit: www.bantrophyhunting.org