On 9th December 2022, the UK branch of the animal rights organisation PETA filed for a judicial review against the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over not replacing the King’s Guards’ bearskin caps with a vegan fur alternative. PETA claims the government failed to properly consider a synthetic replacement it developed with the faux furrier ECOPEL, by refusing to try it or evaluate the findings of laboratory testing in breach of a promise it made to replace the bearskin once a suitable alternative is found.
The current caps are made from the skin of bears killed in Canada, where they are hunted for their fur and are often shot but not immediately killed. Some escape only to die slowly from blood loss or starvation. When mother bears are killed, their orphaned cubs are left to starve unprotected from predators.
Lorna Hackett, PETA’s legal representative from Hackett & Dabbs LLP, said: “We are seeking the court’s intervention so that the MoD fully evaluates the report and reaches a fresh decision by fair process, with a view to considering the faux fur fabric’s adoption as a replacement for real fur if it is found to be suitable, as the MoD has long committed to doing.” An MoD spokesperson said: “We have been served with a legal claim in respect of this matter and cannot provide specific comment on ongoing legal proceedings.”
PETA started its campaign to urge the MoD to stop using the fur of Canadian Black Bears twenty years ago, but despite producing a faux fur alternative in 2021, the government continue supporting the cruelty of bear hunting. The previous year, each bear cap cost £1,305, and more than £1 million worth of UK taxpayers’ money was spent on these cruelly produced ceremonial caps in the previous seven years. However, ECOPEL offered to provide the MoD with faux bear fur free of charge until 2030. Tests commissioned by PETA in 2022 proved that bear skins used for the Kings’s Guards’ caps are outperformed by their vegan alternative, but the MoD does not accept that.
Facebook post
On 9th December 2022, the UK branch of the animal rights organisation PETA filed for a judicial review against the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) over not replacing the King’s Guards’ bearskin caps with a vegan fur alternative. PETA claims the government failed to properly consider a synthetic replacement it developed with the faux furrier ECOPEL, by refusing to try it or evaluate the findings of laboratory testing in breach of a promise it made to replace the bearskin once a suitable alternative is found.
PETA started its campaign to urge the MoD to stop using the fur of Canadian Black Bears twenty years ago, but despite producing a faux fur alternative in 2021, the government continue supporting the cruelty of bear hunting. ECOPEL offered to provide the MoD with faux bear fur free of charge until 2030.
Short text
PETA is suing the UK Ministry of Defence over Guard’s bear fur caps.
PETA claims the government failed to properly consider a vegan alternative it developed.
