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Ricky Gervais slams trophy hunting companies tempting Brits to kill cheetahs

The Office legend Ricky Gervais has joined with a slew of other famous faces to call out disgusting poachers fuelling the illegal killing of cheetahs to trade on the black market

[Ricky Gervais]

Ricky Gervais has boldly come out to call on MPs to ban trophy hunting(Image: Getty Images)

Ricky Gervais has slammed trophy hunting companies offering Brits the chance to kill endangered cheetahs for 6,000, The Daily Star Sunday can reveal. Hunters can stalk, track and kill the endangered big cat and have its carcass skinned, turned into a rug and shipped back to the UK if they are willing to stump up thousands in cash.

The disclosure was blasted by comedy legend Ricky Gervais who told us: All trophy hunting is wrong and should be banned. However, trophy hunting of endangered species is absolutely insane.

"Cheetahs are Africas most endangered big cat; their numbers are going down all the time. So how the hell is it still legal for bloodthirsty sport hunters to kill the few remaining animals - just for fun?

[Ricky Gervais]

Comedian Ricky Gervais has come out against the illegal killing of cheetahs, only to make 6,000 per kill(Image: Getty Images)

Details of the scandal have been disclosed in a report to MPs which also reveals several British-linked hunting companies are involved in the killing of endangered animals for profit. Details of the latest so-called trophy hunting revelation have been disclosed to MPs in a report by the pressure group Ban Trophy Hunting.

The report reveals that unlike the US and several European countries, Britain still allows trophy hunters to bring cheetah bodies, heads and skins back into the UK. MPs have been told that Cheetahs are Africas most endangered big cat, with fewer than 7,000 remaining in the wild.

Numbers are predicted to fall by another 50 percent in the next few years and according to National Geographics Special Investigations Unit, cheetahs are dangerously close to extinction. Ricky Gervais added: Several European countries have banned trophy hunters from bringing back the heads and bodies of cheetahs.

[Ricky Gervais]

The Office star called on the UK government to follow other European countries in banning trophy hunting(Image: NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images)

"Even the United States has done this. Britain, though, still lets trophy hunters import cheetah body parts to decorate their living rooms with how can we call ourselves a nation of animal lovers when were behind even hunting-mad Americans?

It sickens me that there are British companies selling cheetah trophy hunting holidays. We need a total ban on hunting trophies. We also need these companies to be shut down for good.

Other celebs also supported our campaign to end trophy hunting. Pop star Kim Wilde said: We see trophy hunters bragging on social media about killing animals for kicks.

"It is shocking that British trophy hunters are quietly shooting Cheetahs, lions, elephants, and even leopards. It is even more shocking that British companies are making money from this so-called sport. We have to bring this disgrace to an end as quickly as possible.

Ex-England cricketer Kevin Pietersen said: Trophy hunters are not conservationists. They are people who kill animals for fun. They then make up excuses to try and justify their so-called sport.

[A cheetah's spots are unique to each individual, like fingerprints.]

Cheetahs are the fastest land animal on Earth, but are often hunted down for "sport"(Image: Getty Images/iStockphoto)

If trophy hunting was good for conservation, why are rhinos, cheetahs, leopards, hippos and giraffes all in serious trouble? Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: "Cheetahs are the planets fastest animals.

"They are also fast disappearing from the wild. Killing them for kicks is making a bad situation even worse. People will be shocked to learn that British businessmen are making a killing literally from selling animals to bloodthirsty psychopaths who shoot them for fun.

The government says it wants to ban British hunters from bringing back these sick souvenirs, but refuses to say when. Time is running out for cheetahs. Nine out of ten voters want an immediate ban - so what is Keir Starmer waiting for?

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