Animal lovers urged to help Ban Trophy Hunting Campaign by Dame Joanna Lumley

The Absolutely Fabulous star has designed a striking new t-shirt featuring her own hand-drawn image of a giraffe, which is being sold in aid of the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting.

The campaign launch coincides with rising fears over the future of the world’s tallest mammal and comes ahead of the 10th anniversary of the killing of Cecil the Lion, whose death shocked the world and exposed the brutal reality of the trophy hunting industry.

“I’ve designed a t-shirt for the wonderful people at the Campaign to Ban Trophy Hunting who are working so hard to get this terrible practice outlawed,” said Dame Joanna. “I hope you like the design, it comes straight from the heart, and proceeds go directly to support their amazing work. Let’s remind the politicians of these beautiful animals and that we must protect them, not persecute them. Thank you!”

The shirt is now available to buy online in various styles, with all proceeds going directly to the campaign’s work to stop the import of animal trophies into the UK.

Campaign founder Eduardo Goncalves said: “Joanna has been an unwavering champion for animals, and we are so grateful to her for lending her voice and her talent to this campaign. With Cecil's anniversary next week this is the perfect time to highlight the terrible toll trophy hunting continues to take, not only on giraffes, but on many threatened species.

“I urge everyone who cares about animals to help us finish what we started. Write to your MP and ask them to back the ban – or show your support by wearing Joanna’s powerful new design.”

According to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species (CITES), trophy hunters took home nearly 1,800 giraffe trophies in 2023 alone. These included body parts such as skins, bones, skulls, feet, and tails, with one particularly disturbing case involving giraffe genitalia seized by customs officers.

Some of the giraffes shot had been bred in captivity specifically for the trophy hunting industry.

The campaign t-shirt is available to order now from www.bantrophyhunting.org