Stop Killing Bears for Your Ceremonial Hats; Choose Other Method

The Buckingham Palace Guardsmen look so dapper and royal in their ceremonial garb, including those bear hats worn atop their heads.  However, it is the subject of these hats that causes concern amongst animal advocates.  A total of 127 bearskins were ordered by defence officials this past year alone in order to make those ceremonial hats and this has become a very controversial issue. You can read the full story on this matter at http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/mod-attacked-by-animal-rights-campaigners-over-use-of-bearskins-a6699036.html

The defence authorities state that these guardsmen have been wearing these bearskin hats for 200 years to symbolize the victory over Napoleon’s bearskin-wearing Imperial Guard at the battle of Waterloo in 1815.  Several designers have offered their services to create some alternatives to using real bear skins to create these hats but the defence staff is not in agreement with any other possible alternative.  This is very disturbing as stated by PETA who stated “the fact is that the Ministry of Defence spends tens of thousands of pounds each year supporting the fur industry while doing absolutely nothing to further the search for synthetic materials. For each one of the 127 caps purchased, a bear was cruelly killed, either by being shot during a hunt or ensnared, possibly for days, in a painful trap. During hunts, as many as one bear in seven is not killed immediately after being shot, and some escape wounded, dying later from blood loss or starvation. In the case of mothers with nursing cubs, it can mean the slaughter of entire families.”

Our efforts in this petition is to encourage defence authorities to look much deeper in to other options for creating these ceremonial hats rather than supporting the hunt and kill of bears for their fur.  You can help us in our efforts by signing and sharing this petition.