Famous support campaign requesting ban on hunting animals as trophy

ANDworked in collaboration with primatologist Jane Goodall shortly before her death last year, the campaign for a “Declaration for the Abolition of Hunting Trophys” will be launched on Wednesday with an appeal to UN Secretary-General António Guterres to “start negotiations for a global convention.”.

A application calls also for the UN General Assembly to adopt a resolution supporting the Declaration. 

The text was written by Jane Goodall, who died at the age of 91 on October 1, 2025, and by Portuguese-British activist Eduardo Gonçalves, founder of the Ban Trophy Hunting campaign in the UK. 

“Jane Goodall’s wish was for the hunting of animals as trophies to be abolished, so this campaign is largely intended to be launched in his memory and to continue his legacy,” Eduardo Gonçalves said at a press conference.

In 2024, about 32,000 trophies of animals included in the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) were moved. 

The animals most hunted as trophies are bears, especially black bears, mostly slaughtered in Canada, the world's largest exporter of hunting trophies.

“Canada also allows polar bear hunting for sport and is the only country to do so, since both the US and Russia have long banned polar bear hunting in their territories,” said the activist.

The second most hunted species for trophies are monkeys, except gorillas and chimpanzees, which are protected. 

Despite being in third place on the list of species most sought by animal hunters as trophies, African elephants are the most threatened by activity, as they are classified as “at risk” or “at critical risk” of extinction by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature.

The main predators are Americans and Europeans, Eduardo Gonçalves said. 

“ Trophy hunting is simply cruel, archaic,” said the Portuguese-British, who argues that there are “viable alternative forms of wildlife tourism, such as photographic safaris, which are much more effective in supporting and generating revenue for conservation, in addition to creating jobs and prosperity in often disadvantaged rural communities.”.

The campaign has the support of about 500 subscribers, among personalities, experts and organizations. 

Among the best known subscribers are the Dalai Lama, model Kate Moss, musicians Liam Gallagher and Annie Lennox, and actors Michael Palin, Michael Caine and Pierce Brosnan.