Online Reporter
Martin Kadzere
INTERNATIONAL hunting organisations and safari operators have launched an urgent diplomatic campaign to block a proposed French executive decree that seeks to ban the import of trophies from endangered species.
In a letter dated August 20, 2026, addressed to members, partners and international stakeholders, Jean-Pierre Bernon—president of the Association des Guides de Grande Chasse and vice-president of the International Professional Hunters Association—warned of potential escalation in the situation.
This follows a proposal by French Prime Minister Sébastien Lecornu to ban trophy imports from CITES (Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species) Appendix I and II listed species into France.
The French move comes after a regulatory instruction issued by the country’s Mathieu Lefèvre, minister delegate for ecological transition, on July 31, 3026, directing national CITES authorities to immediately halt the processing of import permits for threatened species ahead of the formal decree.
Mr Bernoni’s warning has jolted Zimbabwean safari operators to express serious concern over the intended ban.
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The operators warned that the proposed trophy import ban by France and potentially other European union member states directly threatens Zimbabwe’s conservation model, rural community livelihoods and the tourism economy.
The proposed decree targets animals listed under international wildlife protection frameworks, including CITES Appendix I, species threatened with extinction, such as black rhinoceros, cheetah, leopard, and pangolin.
It also affects CITES Appendix II species whose trade is controlled to ensure survival, including the African elephant, covering populations in Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, and South Africa; the African lion, hippopotamus, white rhinoceros, Nile crocodile and Hartmann’s mountain Zebra.
Global hunting organisation representatives argue the policy was crafted following exclusive consultations with animal-welfare organisations, but without equivalent input from wildlife management experts, scientific authorities or African states.
Highlighting the procedural end-run and wider geopolitical risks, Mr Bernon said: “This initiative has reached a critical point. The prime minister intends to shortly impose the ban through a prime ministerial decree, bypassing both the national assembly and the senate.
Such a measure would be adopted without parliamentary debate, without consultation with elected representatives, and without hearing the countries directly concerned. Its consequences extend far beyond France.
“They could affect France’s international commitments under CITES, relations with African countries, conservation financing, rural communities, and the management of large natural areas.
“If the French initiative succeeds, similar measures would also be adopted in other European countries.”
Addressing the need for direct African sovereign leadership to counter European policymakers, Mr Bernon suggested that African political leaders are significantly more credible and influential with French policymakers than hunting advocates in France or the wider Western world.
