Nearly two tons of elephant ivory has been shipped into Britain over the past decade by hunters exploiting a legal loophole to bring back tusks as trophies of their controversial kills.

A shocking 729 elephant tusks and body parts are among the gruesome catalogue, including 400 trophies from the world’s most endangered species.

The animals are slaughtered by hunters who spend tens of thousands of pounds on safari expeditions.

Diggory Hadoke, a gun merchant from Ludlow, Shropshire, has posted pictures on Facebook posing with a buffalo he shot in Tanzania in 2015. More than 400 trophies have been shipped to the UK

According to the UN, hunters also brought back trophies of 337 hippos, 298 black bears, 193 baboons, 159 leopards, 142 zebras and 91 lions to Britain as mementoes between 2007 and 2016.

The Government was last night criticised for failing to follow Australia, France and Holland in halting such imports and for breaking a 2015 promise to ban lion trophies following outrage over the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe by a US dentist.

A source close to Environment Secretary Michael Gove last night said that he was ‘sympathetic’ to banning trophy imports.

The Joint Nature Conservation Committee, a public body that advises the Government, is understood to have been asked to look at the issue following action by celebrities and wildlife campaigners.

A shocking 729 elephant tusks and body parts are among the gruesome catalogue, including 400 trophies from the world’s most endangered species

And dozens of MPs have united behind an early day motion tabled by Conservative MP Zac Goldsmith calling for a trophy ban.

Eduardo Goncalves, from the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, said: ‘This is grotesque slaughter on a massive scale and is pushing threatened species closer to the edge of extinction.’

But supporters of big game hunting argue the revenue it raises pays for anti-poaching units and funds the conservation of the world’s most endangered species.

The Government was last night criticised for breaking a 2015 promise to ban lion trophies following outrage over the killing of Cecil the lion (pictured) in Zimbabwe by a US dentist

Diggory Hadoke, a gun merchant from Ludlow, Shropshire, has posted pictures on Facebook posing with a buffalo he shot in Tanzania in 2015.

Mr Hadoke, 51, said: ‘The anti-hunting witch-hunt is really prejudicial. It is akin to homophobia in my view.’

Defra said: ‘The Government will not issue an import permit for a trophy unless the importer can show there has been no detrimental impact on endangered species and the trophy has been obtained from a sustainable hunting operation.’