BUENOS AIRES, Argentina—Politicians, wildlife experts and the public gathered today at the National Congress Chamber of Deputies for the opening ceremony of the photography exhibition “Still Life. Hunting Trophies.” to support a ban on the import into Argentina of hunting trophies from CITES-listed wild species such as African elephant, hippopotamus and leopard. Species listed under CITES―the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species―are those already threatened or vulnerable to threat by trade. Argentina is the third-largest importer of CITES-listed trophies in Latin America and the 15th-largest importer in the world. Imports continue despite 86% of Argentines opposing trophy hunting and 92% supporting a hunting trophy import ban.
Hosted by Humane World for Animals (formerly called Humane Society International) and National Deputy María Soledad Carrizo, who has proposed a bill to ban hunting trophy imports, the exhibition features photographs by award-winning photographer Britta Jaschinski highlighting the brutal reality of trophy hunting. Her images showcase items such as footstools made from elephant feet, bear paw slippers and stuffed lion heads. Trophy hunting is the killing of wild animals for entertainment to obtain their bodies or body parts as “trophy” souvenirs. The objects in the photos were seized by authorities for various reasons including incorrect paperwork, but it is currently legal for Argentine hunters to travel abroad to kill animals and bring back trophies just like these—a cruel injustice that Humane World for Animals is campaigning to end.
National Deputy Carrizo’s legislative bill (7087-D-2024) has already garnered the support of Representatives Gerardo Cipolini, Julio Cobos, Roberto Sánchez, Natalia Sarapura, Pamela Verasay, Roxana Reyes, Rodrigo De Loredo and Gabriela Brouwer de Koning, along with over 55 public sector organizations. National Deputy Carrizo and Humane World for Animals hope their exhibition will not only expose the unethical and harmful practice of trophy hunting but also catalyze concrete changes in national legislation by raising awareness among parliamentarians and the public to place animal welfare on the social agenda.
National Deputy Carrizo, author of the bill and co-promoter of this event, said: "This project is part of a joint effort, with both an international and local perspective, which highlights the importance of working collaboratively between states, associations and leaders on the subject. International trophy hunting is an activity that only generates negative consequences, transforms wildlife into merchandise, promotes corruption, illegal trafficking networks and exploitation in all its forms, and whose only interest is the profit that benefits a very small group of people. Argentina needs to advance in issuing regulations of this type, and also serve as a model to promote regulatory changes in neighboring countries."
Britta Jaschinski, 'Photojournalism Winner' of the prestigious Wildlife Photographer of the Year award 2024 with “Dusting for New Evidence” (included in the “Still Life. Hunting Trophies.” exhibition), said: “My photos offer a chilling look at human disregard for other species. This is not just about the senseless loss of many lives—these trophies stand for the loss of our integrity. It’s deeply concerning that trophy hunting is not only our past but also our present and possibly our future too if we do not act. The good news is, we can make better choices. Governments and lawmakers, please look at these photographs. Is this really how we envision the world around us?”
The exhibition was first hosted by Humane World for Animals in March 2024 at Italy’s National Parliament Chamber of Deputies and has also travelled to the Parliaments of Poland and the United Kingdom to support legislative initiatives in each country to ban the import of hunting trophies.
Sarah Veatch, wildlife policy principal at Humane World for Animals, said: “Hunting trophy trade restrictions are absolutely necessary to disincentivize trophy hunters from killing these beautiful animals but also, from an ecological point of view, to eliminate the pressures such killing puts on wild populations of target species already struggling to survive in the face of poaching and habitat loss. This thought-provoking exhibition has already opened the eyes of so many people across Europe to the cruelty and wantonness of the archaic trophy hunting industry. We must end trade for this practice that habitually turns living wild animals into lifeless objects for vanity, profit and display.”
The proposed ban in Argentina is in line with a global movement to end trophy hunting that has seen trade or trophy hunting restrictions implemented in Australia, Belgium, Colombia, Costa Rica, Finland, France, Malawi and the Netherlands over the last decade. Legislative bills are also being debated in the United Kingdom and France. In addition, the South African government has committed to shutting down its captive lion breeding industry, the primary source of its lion trophy exports. More than 40 airlines and transportation companies including Aerolineas Argentinas have issued policies not to transport hunting trophies on their carriers, while major travel companies Booking.com and Expedia have policies banning the promotion of trophy hunting trips.
“Still Life. Hunting Trophies.” is open to the public daily from June 9 - 27 from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. in Annex A of the National Congress. Admission is free and does not require a reservation.
