Sir Paul McCartney wants “peace on Earth” for his birthday

In a guest blog for the animal rights charity, Paul wrote: “All I’ve ever wanted for my birthday is peace on Earth - including for the animals. That’s why this year I’m urging fans to watch a video I hosted for PETA titled ‘Glass Walls’. We called it that because if slaughterhouses had glass walls, who would want to eat meat?”

The former Beatles legend also asked his followers to share the video - which has amassed over 20 million views and shows turkeys and chickens held in cramped, filthy sheds - to their friends to spread awareness.

He added: “Whether you’re worried about diseases that spring from slaughterhouses, the animals who suffer terribly and needlessly, or the catastrophic impact of the meat industry on our environment, please watch this short video and share it with your friends.”

Paul is a longtime collaborator with PETA, and last year released a music video for his 1993 protest song 'Looking For Changes’ in partnership with the organisation.

He said at the time: "I'm looking for changes that will continue the momentum of getting animals out of laboratories. Experiments on animals are unethical - they're a colossal failure and a waste of time and money. We can and must do better.”

The music video - which was entirely animated - showed scenarios in which lab workers get tricked by the animals they are about to experiment on.

Cartoon Paul and his furry friends then headed over to Capitol Hill to demand government "changes in the way we treat our fellow creatures".