Dame Judi Dench backs new call to ban trophy hunting

Dame Judi Dench is leading a new campaign to ban trophy hunting and push the Labour Government to keep its manifesto promise on the issue.

Other top stars such as Ricky Gervais, Sir David Jason, Brian Blessed and Dame Joanna Lumley have all joined the drive to end the cruel “sport” that
has some species heading towards a “needless and senseless extinction”.

The Ban Trophy Hunting charity brought its campaign to Westminster with a billboard showing Sally the tiger cub.

Sally was “bred for the bullet” but rescued by the charity in South Africa last year.

Separated from her mother when she was only days old, Sally was raised in a “cub mill’ to make her an easy target.

The charity has also launched a petition backed by a host of animal-loving celebrities.

Oscar winner Dame Judi, 89 said: “I have never understood people who want to hunt and kill wild animals.

“We hunt to show off, what is the point of that? I say it should stop. Trophy hunting is cruel, archaic and cowardly.”

And Sir David, 84, added: “It seems we are condemning wildlife to not just a cruel death but also to a needless and senseless extinction.

“We should do everything we can to persuade the Government to act swiftly.”

Ricky Gervais, well known for his animal rights campaigning said: “Imagine seeing a beautiful animal and thinking that the best course of action was to shoot it dead, and then display it in your house? It’s sick and perverted.

“These people are psychopaths, and as a society we can do so much better than allow it to continue to happen.

“UK hunters think it is alright to kill a beautiful, majestic endangered species for no reason, there was something wrong with them, so laws need to be put in place to stop this kind of behaviour. Please join me in backing the ban and sign the petition, badger your MP too, we are so nearly there!”

The Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, which has cross-party support, calls for a ban on trophy hunting and trophy imports.

In the Commons last
week, Labour MP Bambos Charalambous asked about the timescale for legislation.

He only received a written answer which simply read: “The Government committed in its manifesto to banning the import of hunting trophies.”