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
