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Big game hunters brought home trophies taken from dead elephants, lions, hippopotamus, giraffes, bears and crocodiles – despite a Labour election promise to ban this, new figures showed.

In the first nine months of the Government, 28 import permits were granted between July 2024 and March 2025.

There were 16 permits for African elephants, four for hippopotamuses, three for American black bears, three for brown bears and one each for Nile crocodiles, giraffes and lions.

However in its 2024 election manifesto, Labour said it would ban the import of hunting trophies, but no action has been taken.

Green Party MP Adrian Ramsay, who raised the issue in a parliamentary question, said: “For a nation of animal lovers, the continued import of so-called ‘hunting trophies’ goes against the heart of British values of compassion.

“Like many promises made at the election, there has been little progress from the Labour party on delivering a ban. I have been constantly pushing the Government.

“I know there is cross-party support among MPs to end trophy imports altogether.”

He added: “The number of import permits being approved is quite frankly astonishing. Even one permit allowing animals killed in such a cruel way to be brought into the country is one too many and a total failure of leadership from the Government.”

The call to ban hunting trophies gathered pace following the global outcry over the killing of Cecil the lion by crossbow in 2015.

The 13-year-old black-maned lion was a major attraction at Zimbabwe’s Hwange National Park but he was illegally lured out of the park, shot and left to suffer for 10 hours before being skinned, and beheaded by an American recreational hunter.

Shadow Defra Minister Dr Neil Hudson added: “Last year we marked 10 years since the tragic killing of Cecil the lion – a moment which caught the world’s attention and ignited global outrage and the campaign to ban the import of hunting trophies into the UK.

“Yet, despite the outcry, the global trophy hunting industry has continued unabated.

“Cecil’s story sadly was not unique and every year trophy hunters kill tens of thousands of these precious and majestic animals around the world.”

He added: “Trophy hunting is a barbaric and outdated practice which should be consigned to the history books. These majestic animals should only be shot with cameras, not with lethal weapons.

“Here in the UK we have some of the highest animal welfare standards in the world, and I am proud that our country has shown global leadership in this regard. We can and must take action now and I urge the Government to act to get this ban over the line.”

Campaigners also called on the Government to honour its promise.

Born Free said its own polling ahead of the election found 85% of Britons supported a ban.

In the decade to 2023, there were 431 imports of hunting trophies from 60 species listed on the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora appendices.

Dr Mark Jones, the wildlife charity’s head of policy, said: “These included 96 trophies derived from African elephants, 115 from hippos, 99 from lions, 39 from leopards, and four from rhinos, among many others.

“So the fact that 28 import permits were issued in the first nine months of Labour’s tenure in office, which began in 2024, while shocking, is not surprising.

“The Labour party came into office on the back of its manifesto, so until a ban is introduced, many voters are being let down.

“While a UK import ban wouldn’t in and of itself, bring an end to trophy hunting, it would send a clear message that the UK doesn’t support this heinous and damaging activity.”

A Defra spokesperson said: “The Government remains committed to introducing a ban on the import of hunting trophies from species of conservation concern.

“We are carefully considering all available options to bring in a ban as soon as parliamentary time allows.”