I can imagine The Queen is trying to keep a low profile these days when it comes to the animal skins industry, so the news today of her stationer dealing in rare lizard skins is probably causing her to have a bit of a hot flush.

Smythson, the company behind the debacle, has David Cameron’s wife as the creative director, and gifts bound in the exotic skins sell for anything between £250 and £1,200. Is this the price of a near-endangered species’ life? Government agency, Animal Health, has revealed that three main species of lizard have been imported into the UK by businesses: the Nile monitor, common tegu and the water monitor – all classified as needing to have their trade controlled.

Biologist Clifford Warwick tells The Independent’s Martin Hickman what he has seen in the industry: “The hunters will then cut their heads off and skin them. In most cases they are alive when they are skinned.” Apparently, because they have such a slow metabolism, they could be alive for up to an hour after decapitation. All for a business-card case.

Exotic skins are never acceptable, no matter who you are or how much money you have. Celebrities like Lisa B (below) and fashion stores like Topshop, know this, and wouldn’t you rather follow in their footsteps than someone who keeps the bearskin trade in business? Make sure you contact Smythson and give them a (polite) piece of your mind, and urge them to stop selling rare lizard skin products.

From one queen to another, Julian Clary is calling on Her Majesty to stop picking on bears. That’s right, the camp comic himself posed for this great new ad – naked expect a bit of royal attire and a… erm, teddy bear covering his crown jewels. We caught up with him during the shoot to find out more about why he’s sticking up for bears.

PETA: So what made you decide to bare all for PETA?
Julian: I’d hoped the mere threat of me taking my clothes off would cause the Queen to switch to synthetic fur, but it seems not. Now I must follow through, as it were. If it wasn’t so tragic for the bears it would be just plain silly. There is no earthly reason to keep killing bears. Tradition is all very well, but not when it is needless and cruel. Even the royals can evolve, surely?

PETA: This isn’t the first time you have supported PETA’s bearskins campaign, is it?
Julian: I wrote to her majesty some time ago, queen to Queen, as it were, suggesting it might be time for her guards to start wearing fun fur hats. No one would be able to tell the difference, and so many bears’ lives would be saved. She didn’t respond. Now I am exposing my remarkably well preserved body to make her see sense. I am her loyal subject, but I am also very fond of bears. Let’s not fall out over this.

PETA: Many people still don’t realise that the ceremonial caps are real, or that it takes one bear to make every single cap.
Julian: If the queen’s guards wore fake fur hats instead, it would be a changing of the guards well worth applauding.

PETA: If the Queen happens to read this, what would be your message to her?
Julian: I would respectfully ask her how she justifies killing beautiful bears for ceremonial hats when there is an indistinguishable alternative.

If you haven’t already checked out Julian’s book, Murder Most Fab, it’s now out on paperback. You’re in for a treat…

So Anna Wintour, the fur-hag editor-in-chief of American Vogue is getting an OBE, huh? Apparently, she has been awarded in the Queen’s birthday list for her ‘service’ to British journalism and British fashion in the US.

Here’s why this decision is a bad one:

Anna Wintour is responsible for the unashamed flaunting of fur between the covers of Vogue. She must therefore share responsibility for the deaths of thousands of animals that are trapped, drowned or beaten to death in the wild, and gassed, strangled or electrocuted on fur farms. She has no excuse – PETA US has shown her footage of animals suffering for this so-called ‘fashion’, yet the pro-fur editorial continues.

Order of the British Empire? More like Order of the Bloody E… actually, you got me there. Comments welcome!

VogueSucks.com has more.

Image: StyleBlogs / CC

Just round the corner from the PETA office today the Queen was met by the lovely PETA bear (aka our campaigner Nico dressed in a bear suit). Her Maj was all smiles as she spotted the bear waving to her from across the road but sadly didn’t stop for a chat and a cuddle. I sneaked a bear hug in though, see below.

The PETA bear has literally travelled the world to greet the Royals at various public conventions, but I have to say with a certain gush, this was the first time I’d seen her in real life (she’s the lady in grey in case you didn’t figure it). We grabbed this opportunity because of the immense cruelty involved in the production of Her Majesty’s Guards’ caps which are made from real bearskin.

You can find out more about the campaign at UnbearableCruelty.co.uk and send a letter direct to the Ministry of Defence here.