mark-hunter
AH ambassador
Link:
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Strasbourg, 23 October 2025 – The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the EU’s objectives for an upcoming global wildlife conference (CITES CoP20), aiming to strengthen the EU’s commitment to ensuring that trade in wild fauna and flora is legal and sustainable.
This year, CITES celebrates 50 years of regulating the global wildlife trade. The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CITES CoP20) will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (24 November – 5 December 2025), defining the agenda for future international commitments on wildlife trade.
For the first time in a decade, the European Parliament has adopted a science-based approach to the movement of hunting trophies, avoiding calls for restrictions and instead acknowledging the benefits that well-managed hunting programmes can offer for wildlife conservation and local communities.
Alongside FACE, several organisations welcome the outcome of the European Parliament vote. Laurens Hoedemaker, FACE President, said, “The European Parliament must be commended for taking a science-based approach to hunting, and in particular, towards the movement of hunting trophies. This marks an important step in recognising the positive role that hunting can play.”
Regarding the movement of hunting trophies within Europe, strict laws are in place to ensure sustainability. Additionally, the European Commission and experts from Member States are applying increased scrutiny on specific species under the EU Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking.
Importantly, the European Commission and other international organisations, such as IUCN, have acknowledged that legal and sustainable wildlife trade can offer multiple benefits to conservation, livelihoods, local economies, and support enforcement efforts to combat illegal activities.
In a Briefing Paper by the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (IUCN SULi), experts argue that “poorly targeted or blanket bans or restrictions affect both good and bad hunting practices. They are blunt instruments that risk undermining important benefits for both conservation and local livelihoods, thus exacerbating rather than addressing the prevailing major threats of habitat loss and poaching”.
European Parliament Takes a Science-Based Approach to Hunting
The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the EU’s objectives
www.face.eu
qoute/unqoute
Strasbourg, 23 October 2025 – The European Parliament has adopted a resolution on the EU’s objectives for an upcoming global wildlife conference (CITES CoP20), aiming to strengthen the EU’s commitment to ensuring that trade in wild fauna and flora is legal and sustainable.
This year, CITES celebrates 50 years of regulating the global wildlife trade. The 20th meeting of the Conference of the Parties to CITES (CITES CoP20) will take place in Samarkand, Uzbekistan (24 November – 5 December 2025), defining the agenda for future international commitments on wildlife trade.
For the first time in a decade, the European Parliament has adopted a science-based approach to the movement of hunting trophies, avoiding calls for restrictions and instead acknowledging the benefits that well-managed hunting programmes can offer for wildlife conservation and local communities.
Alongside FACE, several organisations welcome the outcome of the European Parliament vote. Laurens Hoedemaker, FACE President, said, “The European Parliament must be commended for taking a science-based approach to hunting, and in particular, towards the movement of hunting trophies. This marks an important step in recognising the positive role that hunting can play.”
Regarding the movement of hunting trophies within Europe, strict laws are in place to ensure sustainability. Additionally, the European Commission and experts from Member States are applying increased scrutiny on specific species under the EU Action Plan Against Wildlife Trafficking.
Importantly, the European Commission and other international organisations, such as IUCN, have acknowledged that legal and sustainable wildlife trade can offer multiple benefits to conservation, livelihoods, local economies, and support enforcement efforts to combat illegal activities.
In a Briefing Paper by the IUCN Sustainable Use and Livelihoods Specialist Group (IUCN SULi), experts argue that “poorly targeted or blanket bans or restrictions affect both good and bad hunting practices. They are blunt instruments that risk undermining important benefits for both conservation and local livelihoods, thus exacerbating rather than addressing the prevailing major threats of habitat loss and poaching”.
