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

Why did the bull cross the road? To escape the slaughterhouse! But sadly for Charlie, the 14-month-old bullock who was rescued from a Cornish cliff yesterday by the Ministry of Defence, it might have all been in vain.

For three days, Charlie was trapped down the bottom of a cliff after escaping from his herd of “beef cattle” in St. Levan, West Cornwall. The brave bull headed for the sun, sand and sea but sadly didn’t reach his holiday destination, as he lost his footing and plunged over the edge of a cliff.

Three days, 27 coast guards, the Royal Navy Air Service, the RSPCA and a team of supportive onlookers later, Charlie was flown to safety and all lived happily ever after. Or that’s how you’d think this story ends, but actually it does not.

Media reports suggest that the bull, who cost the emergency services thousands of pounds and a tremendous amount of effort to save his life, was returned to the herd and back in line for slaughter once again. You can see what he has to look forward to here.

So PETA sent the farmer a letter asking for him to consider retiring the bull to a sanctuary so he could live the rest of his life in peace. Here are the juicy bits:

We’ll let you know how it pans out.

Following the stranding of more than 70 dolphins off the Cornish coast last week - 26 of whom have died, I might add - we think it’s time Gordon Brown and the MoD got an ear-bashing for the part they had to play in the tragedy. It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to realise that the testing of military sonar will have an effect on dolphins (and whales), causing them to become confused, lost and ultimately beached up on a shore, like these guys did. Ingrid didn’t hesitate in faxing over a letter to the big PM, and here’s what she had to say:

So according to the terrific media coverage on the Ann Widdecombe appeal against Guards’ bearskin hats yesterday, the MoD PR machine sent out a totally misleading statement about being “in discussions with PETA.” What a load of nonsense! We talk and they don’t listen and that’s been the story for years… We’ve given them designers, designs and synthetics but they won’t budge. Sure, they are working on public relations but not on stopping bear slaughter for hats. The MOD have the resources to do what 80 percent of the British public want, so you know, get on with it!

Watch the video and see for yourself, then show it to everyone who can hold a pen or click a mouse. Check out the letter we sent to the MoD today.

Click here to see it in full

The Ministry of Defence (MoD) has announced that they will stop using live goats in decompression sickness tests for the Navy. It is a great victory and one long awaited – this has been going on for over 50 years, with more than 400 experiments carried out since the year 2000.

The sickening deep-diving tests were to see if in an emergency it would be safer for submarine crew to abandon ship or wait for rescue. And what did the goats have to go through for this? Apparently, decompression sickness causes ‘excruciating’ pain with other symptoms such as vomiting, confusion, memory loss, nausea and vertigo.

But the battle is not over and the MoD continues to experiment on rats, mice and monkeys, including trying to infect monkeys with anthrax and other cruel tests.

It stands to reason that these tests have been going on for so long and it’s clear that animal tests are a waste of time, money and precious lives. What the MoD didn’t find out in ten years in these goat tests they weren’t going to find out in 50, and the same goes for all animal experimentation.