Hundreds of household names have joined with wildlife experts, African community leaders, the Dalai Lama and the Catholic Church to call on the UN to abolish trophy hunting, which claims tens of thousands of endangered animals every year.

The initiative is being launched today, July 1 – the anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion by American trophy hunter and dentist, Walter Palmer.

The Wildlife & Conservation Foundation (www.BanTrophyHunting.org), which is coordinating the campaign, is publishing a new report which reveals bears, monkeys and elephants are the most popular animals shot by trophy hunters today. Giraffes, lions, hippopotamuses and leopards are also highly sought-after, with critically endangered animals such as black rhinoceroses continuing to be killed too.

Among the big-name backers of the campaign are Alec Baldwin, Paul McCartney, Bill Maher, Priscilla Presley, Judi Dench, Ricky Gervais, Pierce Brosnan, Kate Moss, Mark Ruffalo, Michael Caine, Annie Lennox, Liam Gallagher, Bianca Jagger, Cliff Richard, Heather Mills, Edie Falco, Daryl Hannah, James Cromwell, Hilary Swank, Brigitte Nielsen, Brian Cox, Ranulph Fiennes, Emma Thompson, Hugh Laurie, Joanna Lumley, Miriam Margolyes, Kim Basinger, Alan Cumming, Bryan Adams, Sharon Osbourne, Gary Lineker, Jenson Button, and Frank Bruno.

Others include former Presidents Ernesto Zedillo (Mexico) and Ian Khama (Botswana), Shane Rodrigues - who helped his father Johnny Rodrigues discover the identity of Walter Palmer, the killer of Cecil the lion – and the Australian and Dutch ministers who introduced trophy bans when they were in office.

Western governments grant import permits to hunters, allowing them to bring horns and tusks of endangered animals through customs. Other souvenirs recently recorded by CITES include bear penises, giraffe feet, and elephant trunks.

There has been a 73% collapse in wildlife numbers since 1970. There are approximately 20,000 lions in the wild: however, 10,000 lions have been shot since Cecil was killed by American dentist Walter Palmer in 2015.

Environmental leaders including David Suzuki, Captain Paul Watson and Phillipe Cousteau, the son of Jacques Cousteau, are backing the campaign, as is a former WWF International Director, a Senior Maasai Elder, and the lawyer responsible for trophy hunting recently being ruled unconstitutional in Colombia.

Trophy hunting is a minority ‘elite’ sport: hunters from just 12 countries account for 90% of all ‘trade’, with the US topping the table. Several European nations are among other leading importers of trophies.

Public opinion is strongly opposed to trophy hunting, with between 80-92% of voters in North America and Europe backing a ban.

Canada and South Africa are the two most popular destinations for trophy hunters. Between 70-84% of people here oppose the practice too.

A small number of individual hunters are responsible for killing extraordinary numbers of animals. Safari Club International - the largest trophy hunting group - has handed out over 300 prizes to members who have shot at least 100 different species. Some members have shot thousands of animals.

Kenya - which prohibits trophy hunting - has seen lion, elephant, rhino and giraffe populations increase in recent years. Costa Rica also forbids trophy hunting: big cat and monkey populations are thriving here too. India is another country which has outlawed the ‘sport’: tiger, leopard and elephant numbers here are growing.

The abolition initiative was inspired by Dr Jane Goodall. At a London event to mark the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the lion, she said: “How on earth have we allowed this to continue for so long? Trophy hunting is unconscionable.”

A Declaration on the Abolition of Trophy Hunting – which has over 500 founder signatories - was drawn up by Jane Goodall and Eduardo Goncalves, founder of the Wildlife and Conservation Foundation.