MoD rejects ban on bear cull for hats
UP to 140 black bears will need to be culled each year to replace hats for the Queen’s Guards after the MoD said it would not use fake fur.
A 42,430 signature petition launched by Britain’s Got Talent judge Alesha Dixon called for faux fur headgear from now on.
Four synthetic fabrics were lab tested and the Army concluded only real bearskin – water repellent and sturdy – will do.
But fake is okay for busbies worn by the Royal Horse Artillery.
Even if a fabric can be found for the Guards, soldiers get the final say. Defence Equipment minister Jeremy Quin said: “Any fabric would have to gain user approval for shape and comfort.”
He said bears were not hunted to order and pelts came from authorised culls in Canada to manage bear population. It takes the skin of a single bear to make each hat – at £1,710 a time. The MoD, which has spent nearly £1million on them since 2015, said: “Artificial fur, sadly, didn’t meet standards.”
TV star Alesha insisted: “Most British people are against fur.”
Elisa Allen, of animal charity PETA, said: “We found no evidence of any Canadian bear-culling programme. In some provinces, it’s legal to hunt them with guns, spears, bows and arrows.”