New book on trophy hunting sheds light on how widespread the industry is across the UK
Written by investigative conservationist Eduardo Gonçalves Mainlining on Heroin is part of a hard-hitting trilogy of exposes, which has been released to mark ten years since the killing of Cecil the Lion.
World renowned conservationist Jane Goodall said: “Gonçalves is the undeniable expert on this. His investigations have dragged the industry kicking and screaming into the open. If it weren’t for him, we would still be in the dark.”
Judi Dench added: “Gonçalves brings to light everything the industry doesn’t want you to know. Cecil’s death didn’t shut it down. This might.”
According to Priscilla Presley: “The Times once said: ‘Mr. Gonçalves has done the world a service’. They were right. Policymakers now have no excuse not to act.”
“Mainlining on Heroin” investigates Britain’s trophy hunting industry and names hunters and UK-owned companies who are at the top of the global league table.
Gonçalves, who founded the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and leads the Wildlife & Conservation Foundation, has also produced a documentary – “Britain’s Trophy Hunters” - with undercover investigators.
They visit the trophy rooms of top UK hunters, the workshops of British taxidermists, and the hunting estates leased in South Africa by UK-owned businesses where British hunters can shoot elephants and giraffes.
Joanna Lumley said: “Gonçalves destroys the myth that trophy hunting is just a handful of Americans. He exposes Britain’s shameful role, and why the Government must act now.”
In his foreword to “Mainlining on Heroin” – the words used by a British trophy hunter who shot a critically endangered black rhino to describe ‘big game’ hunting - TV naturalist Chris Packham says: “We call ourselves a nation of animal-lovers. Well, let's prove it. Let’s help put an end to one of the most disgraceful forms of wildlife persecution in existence. Let’s ban British hunters from bringing their trophies home. It’s time to act.”
Gonçalves names hundreds of hunters who have killed at least 100 animals, and hundreds more who have shot the ‘African Big Five’ (lions, elephants, rhinos, leopards and buffaloes).
“Since Cecil was killed 10 years ago, Trophy Hunters have shot another 10,000 lions for ‘sport’ and souvenirs,” Gonçalves said. “There are now fewer than 20,000 lions in the wild.
“Like Cecil, many animals shot by trophy hunters are badly wounded and are left to die. Some are lost altogether. The cruelty we discovered was absolutely horrendous.
“The trophy hunters we spoke to constantly mentioned the thrill and the excitement, and how addictive it is. Some had killed so many animals they had literally lost count.
“We face a global conservation crisis. Trophy hunting is making a bad situation worse. People will be astonished to learn it is quite legal to shoot endangered animals for fun.”
Gonçalves’s books have been endorsed by Shane Rodrigues, the son of Johnny Rodrigues – the Zimbabwean conservationist who named Walter Palmer as the killer of Cecil. Rodrigues called on the British government to fast-track its manifesto commitment to ban hunting trophies.
In a letter to Prime Minister Keir Starmer, Rodrigues writes: “British trophy hunters have shot 100 African lions since the death of Cecil. British trophy hunters are killing some of the world’s other vulnerable animals, including cheetahs.
“At the General Election, Labour promised to ban hunting trophies. A ban is supported by virtually every party in Parliament. Opinion polls repeatedly show it enjoys overwhelming support from voters.
“On the 10th anniversary of Cecil’s cruel death, Labour should make this long-awaited ban happen.”
All proceeds will be donated to the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting and the Wildlife & Conservation Foundation.
The books are available from Amazon and you can find out more about the campaign at www.bantrophyhunting.org