Michael Gove is considering banning imports of canned lion trophies after meeting with animal rights activists.

The Telegraph understands the environment secretary is sympathetic to the idea of a ban, and is considering doing so to help end the practice of canned lion hunting.

Canned lion hunting is where lions are kept in a confined, fenced off area, making it easy for those who pay enough money to kill them. Their carcasses are then sent home to the UK where they are proudly displayed as trophies.

This controversial practice mainly takes place in South Africa, and hunters fly in from all over the world to guarantee killing a lion. There are currently over 200 breeding facilities in the country, where the endangered animals are reared to be slaughtered. Lord Ashcroft recently raised the issue with Michael Gove after conducting an investigation into the practice, and said he had found evidence of poor animal welfare.

Earlier this week, Mr Gove met with stakeholders including Will Travers, who leads the Born Free foundation and Zac Goldsmith, the Conservative MP for Richmond who chaired a debate on the issue on Wednesday.

Mr Goldsmith told the telegraph: “The British public is rightly appalled at the idea of beautiful creatures like lions being bred simply to be shot like goldfish in a bowl. Self evidently we shouldn’t be incentivising this revolting activity by allowing trophy imports into the UK.”