Boris def ies Carrie to rule out Guards bearskin ban
BORIS Johnson has rejected calls by his animal-loving wife Carrie to ban soldiers from wearing real bearskin headgear.
The Prime Minister has stepped into a heated row between the Ministry of Defence – which wants to continue using real bearskins – and opponents including Carrie Johnson, environment minister Lord Goldsmith and the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta).
The famous headgear – called caps by the Army – is made from the skins of culled wild Canadian bears. Mrs Johnson has made clear her views, writing in 2019: ‘Anyone that wants to buy fur is really sick. Fur belongs on animals only.’ But Mr Johnson, responding to a letter from a member of the Armed Forces, said independent trials of a synthetic ‘faux bear fur’ for use on the caps – which are ‘an iconic image of Britain’ – had not been successful.
Faux fur maker Ecopel submitted a synthetic fur cap and an independent laboratory put it through its paces. Mr Johnplans son wrote that although the fake fur met ‘the basic standard of water absorption’, it ‘showed unacceptable rates of water shedding and performed poorly on visual assessment’.
The Prime Minister added: ‘Sadly, as the man-made fur did not meet the standards required for a ceremonial cap which is worn throughout the year and in all weathers, the Ministry of Defence has no at present to (use) this man-made fabric.’
But Ecopel says it does not accept the analysis.
‘The faux fur “did not show unacceptable rates of water shedding”,’ chief executive Christopher Sarfati said.
‘The water shed from the faux fur in much the same way it does from real bear fur.’ The Army uses 100 skins, thought to be a fraction of the thousands of bears that are killed to keep numbers under control.
The ceremonial headgear can be worn only by foot soldiers in certain regiments – the Grenadier Guards, the Coldstream Guards, and the Scots, Irish and Welsh Guards.
Army top brass have been happy to adopt synthetic fabrics in other cases. Fake leopardskin is worn by drummers in marching bands, while the smaller busby hats worn by the King’s Troop are no longer made from beaver fur.
But Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and the Ministry of Defence were ‘anti-change’, according to sources in Lord Goldsmith’s department.
They told the Daily Mail: ‘The MoD is refusing to compromise on this. Wallace is believed to be very anti-change.’
The use of bearskin caps faces another challenge: new legislation on hunting trophies that could ban the importation of black-bear pelts by hunters.
‘Faux fur didn’t meet standards’