Paul McCartney joins over 500 public figures calling for an end to trophy hunting of lions

Sunday, September 27, 2026

Paul McCartney is among hundreds of public figures backing a new international campaign calling on the United Nations to abolish trophy hunting. Launched on July 1, 2026, the initiative brings together celebrities, conservationists, former heads of state, Indigenous leaders and religious figures around a declaration calling for an end to trophy hunting. The launch was timed to coincide with the 11th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion in Zimbabwe, whose death in 2015 became a major international flashpoint in the debate over trophy hunting. The Wildlife & Conservation Foundation, through its Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting, is coordinating the initiative. Its organisers say more than 500 founding signatories have backed the Declaration on the Abolition of Trophy Hunting, which was developed with the late primatologist and conservationist Jane Goodall.

McCartney is joined by a large group of actors, musicians and other public figures. The campaign's launch announcement names Michael Caine, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Judi Dench, Joanna Lumley, Hilary Swank, Bryan Adams, Annie Lennox, Liam Gallagher and Gary Lineker among its supporters. Jenson Button, Ricky Gervais, Pierce Brosnan, Alec Baldwin, Mark Ruffalo, Kim Basinger, Daryl Hannah, Brian Cox, Michael Palin, Alan Cumming, Kate Moss and Bianca Jagger are also listed. Other prominent names include the Dalai Lama, Priscilla Presley, Edie Falco, Bill Maher, Isabella Rossellini, James Cromwell, Alicia Silverstone, Alyssa Milano, Heather Mills, Belinda Carlisle and Ranulph Fiennes. The campaign also lists former Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo and former Botswana President Ian Khama among its supporters. The coalition extends beyond celebrities. Its supporters include conservationists, African community representatives, Indigenous leaders and religious figures. The campaign's declaration calls for governments to prohibit trophy hunting as well as the international import and export of hunting trophies, with the longer-term aim of securing a global agreement to abolish the practice.

Source: inkl.com