Unless you’ve been living with bears in a cave, you will have no doubt read, or seen on TV, that late yesterday afternoon PETA director Robbie LeBlanc and our terrific military advisor Reg Pycroft met with MoD officials in Whitehall to sort out the Queen’s guards’ bearskin caps palaver. We have been trying hard for a long time now to persuade the MoD to get with the times and make the switch from real bearskins – yes, from real mother bears and their families who were happily going about their business in Canada until shot and killed – to a synthetic alternative … or switch to a new animal-friendly cap altogether

We made a very generous offer to Lady Taylor, Minister of State (Armed Forces) Bob Ainsworth and the rest of the MoD brass – an offer that they flatly refused. We said that if the MoD would agree not to procure any more bearskins from this month on, PETA will give substantial funds – all those currently budgeted for the campaign – to the Help for Heroes Fund, to assist limbless soldiers and others wounded in Britain’s unpopular conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The MoD said “no thanks,” and that they would “continue the search” for a faux-bearskin material suitable for the existing cap design. The MoD also shamefacedly admitted that it has established no timeline and no immediate plans to switch from real bearskins!  

PETA has told the MoD that the British people and the millions of tourists who pour into London each year are being let down by such foot dragging.

But don’t worry, we’re pushing hard (as if you’d doubt it). We’re also open to suggestions for a new cap from international design schools. And we will be continuing our talks with top designers Stella McCartney, Vivienne Westwood and Marc Bouwer.

Let the MoD know how you feel by signing our petition at UnBearableCruelty.co.uk

Sadly it’s that time of year again when grizzly bear hunting in British Columbia, Canada, rears its ugly head, leading to the slaughter of hundreds of bears for this blood-sport. The hunt starts on a limited basis on Friday, then kicks off fully in September. So it’s time to spare a thought and get active for our Unbearable Cruelty campaign (if you weren’t already, of course).

So what do sickening pictures like the one above have to do with the Royal Family? The great big fluffy hats you see adorning the heads of our Royal Guards are actually made from bearskins, from bears that have families, feel pain and breathe, just like you and I do. But none of that matters to the hunters, who kill to earn a quick buck, or to brandish the dead corpses as trophies.

I am so unbelievably excited about this. PETA US has officially ended their campaign against KFC in Canada following negotiations that led to drastic changes in the way chickens will be raised and killed for Canadian KFCs. Before I divulge the details, just a word that these KFCs in Canada operate separately from KFC elsewhere – including KFCs in the UK – so the boycott here continues. Anyway, moving on …

Following months of closed-door negotiations between PETA US and the company that coordinates the purchasing of chickens for all Canadian KFCs, 100 percent of its chickens killed for Canadian KFCs will be purchased (through a phase-in programme) from suppliers that use ‘controlled-atmosphere killing’ (CAK), which is the least cruel method of bird slaughter available. I mean, killing birds for food (or any reason) sucks, but I assure you, this is a much kinder way of doing it.

So how does it work? CAK replaces the birds’ oxygen with a mixture of non-poisonous inert gasses to put them “to sleep.” So we can say goodbye to broken bones, abuse by workers (as workers never handle live birds this way), electric shocks, live throat slitting and scalding.

The living conditions, breeding and farming practices are also set to improve, as well as forming an animal welfare advisory council. And here’s the bit that goes that extra bit further for me: the company will also allow PETA US to review its animal welfare audit forms every six months. Nice one!

But wait for it, there’s more. Who loves vegan chicken? Who doesn’t?! Those lucky so-and-sos in Canada will be able to get fried-vegan chicken in 461 of its 711 stores. That’s 65 percent of KFCs in Canada! Man, I’m getting hungry just thinking about it. But alas, here in sunny, sunny England we continue our campaign against KFC.

Well done to everyone who played a part in securing this amazing success. As they say, every drop in the ocean…

You did it! After hearing from thousands of PETA supporters, Gucci has announced that it will not sell seal fur. However, they do still need to be told not to sell any fur at all, so go ahead and let them know that ALL fur is cruel and heartless.

Meanwhile, people from all over the world are protesting against the atrocity of the Canadian seal hunt, like this demonstration that took place outside Canada House in Trafalgar Square, London over the weekend.

Never afraid to show its anti-fur policy, Cosmopolitan has come out in support for PETA’s anti-seal hunt campaign. Being one of the most popular women’s glossies in the UK, I can’t help but naturally feel a little chuffed about this…

Image: Grey’s Anatomy Insider / Creative Commons

True to Morrissey style, he has given a bold statement against the Canadian seal slaughter. The statement appeared on a Morrissey Zine site True To You and reads:

“31 March 2008

Statement from Morrissey:

In late June the Montreal Symphony are hosting a TV Special to salute Buffy Sainte-Marie’s 50th year making music. I am honored to be asked to take part. I first bought a Buffy Sainte-Marie record when I was 12, and her music has always remained with me. In the 1960s, as a political activist, Buffy’s lyrics were fearless, and I’m very grateful for all the risks that she took.
I am also pleased to be asked to join the bill at the V Festival at the Thunderbird Stadium in Vancouver, and also at Fort Calgary in Calgary.
However, as we all know, the psychologically and constitutionally sickening Canadian seal-kill has started and is once again in full-cry.
The horror of the Canadian seal-kill is untranslatable, and although I fully realize that highly concentrated evil exists in other countries - Japan’s dolphin slaughter, Iceland’s newly-revived whaling, the cat-skinning trade in Switzerland, and China with just about every injustice imaginable - there is something especially menacing about Canada’s seal-kill.
Loyola Sullivan (Canada’s Ambassador for Fisheries Conservation) is a man of glacial coldness who claims that the seal-kill is “humane” - a view he might alter if his own skull were cracked open with a spiked axe.
The fact that the seal-kill provides a livelihood for fishermen is an insultingly dim excuse for it to take place - after all, the German gas chambers of World War 2 also provided work for someone.
The seal-kill takes place to satisfy greed for fur-pelts, and this Canadian government is happy to drag the global image of its own country down, and make it a place that people such as I couldn’t bear to visit.

MORRISSEY, 29 March 2008.”

Don’tcha just love how ruthlessly honest he is? Keep it up Morrissey, stick up for the animals and don’t ever tame your words.

Image: Guardian Blog / Creative Commons

If the images of baby seals being bludgeoned to death on the ice floes of Canada aren’t sickening enough, imagine finding out that Gucci is financing the slaughter with seal fur boots. While most of the world watches on in horror at the unfolding carnage taking place right now, the Italian ‘fashion’ house is peddling the skins of the victims. Send them a letter via our site, check out the amazing new PETA front page, and see what Kasabian have been getting up to in the fight against this shocking cruelty.

Image: xoxkissablexox / Creative Commons

Here’s a report from a PETA US Director, Michael McGraw, on what happened when Pamela Anderson filled in for Brigitte Bardot at the very important annual press conference to protest the Canadian seal slaughter:

“Brigitte Bardot asked Pamela to fill in for her today at her annual news conference to protest the Canadian seal slaughter (Brigitte is ill and couldn’t make it). Pam of course did an amazing job. We arrived at Bardot’s offices to a swarm of press. Pam read a 1-page statement about how, as a Canadian, she is appalled that the seal hunt continues…she described in graphic detail how the seals are beaten to death, and encouraged consumers to boycott designers who work with any fur. She then screened a graphic 2-minute video of the seal slaughter. The press were stunned.

“After a few words from the Bardot Foundation’s campaigns director, Bardot herself called and was put on speakerphone…in front of all of the press, she thanked Pamela for continuing on the campaign in her place, and in broken English called Pam her daughter and her Valentine. Pam was so moved; it was very sweet. Pam was then presented with a heart-shaped bouquet of roses and a personal letter from BB. Then off we went to the Canadian embassy (with AP reporter and photographer and about 15 paparazzi in tow) where Pamela asked to see the Canadian ambassador so she could personally deliver a letter from BB to him in protest of the seal slaughter. Photographers went wild. We were turned away at security, but it made a great photo and a shocked guard promised to hand over the letter for her.”

Both of these ladies have done tremendous things to help animals, and you can help too by signing the petition asking the Canadian government to stop the seal hunt.

Image: Javno / Creative Commons