Beach Boys founding members Brian Wilson and Al Jardine alerted fans Monday that they have no part in an appearance later this week by a version of the group fronted by cofounder Mike Love at a trophy-hunting convention where Donald Trump Jr. will be the keynote speaker.

Love’s touring edition of the Beach Boys, for which he holds the legal rights to the name, also includes longtime band member Bruce Johnston. They are slated to play Wednesday, Feb. 5, at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, where hunting enthusiasts can arrange trips to hunt exotic animals. Trump Jr. and his brother, Eric, are longtime trophy-hunting supporters.

“This organization supports trophy hunting, which both Al and I are emphatically opposed to,” Wilson tweeted on Monday. “There’s nothing we can do personally to stop the show, so please join us in signing the petition” protesting the private event at Change.org.

It has been brought to my attention that on Wednesday February 5, The Beach Boys touring group licensed by Mike Love are headlining at the Safari Club International Convention in Reno, Nevada... — Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020

This organization supports trophy hunting, which Both Al and I are emphatically opposed to. There’s nothing we can do personally to stop the show, so please join us in signing the petition at https://t.co/vOUtJDq6t2 — Brian Wilson (@BrianWilsonLive) February 3, 2020

As of early afternoon Monday, the petition had surpassed 60,000 signatures toward a stated goal of 75,000 signees.

The petition, started by Eduardo Goncalves and addressed to Beach Boys manager Elliott Lott, asks, “Wouldn’t it be nice if all the Beach Boys, stayed away from those who kill for fun?”


“We the undersigned,” the petition states, “pledge to stop buying or downloading all Beach Boys music, going to Beach Boys concerts, and purchasing any Beach Boys merchandise until the Beach Boys withdraw from the SCI Convention and publicly state their opposition to this sick ‘sport’ of killing animals for ‘fun.’”

A spokesman for Brother Records Inc., the Beach Boys’ management company, declined to comment on Monday.

Wilson’s tweets made it clear that Love holds legal authority to use the Beach Boys name for his touring group.

Love attended the inauguration of Donald Trump as president in 2017. “I understand there are so many factions and fractious things going on — the chips will fall where they may,” Love told Uncut magazine at that time. “But Donald Trump has never been anything but kind to us. We have known him for many a year. We’ve performed at some of his venues at fundraisers and so on.”


One of the Beach Boys’ most highly regarded albums is “Pet Sounds,” released in 1966 with a cover photo showing the band members feeding goats at a zoo.