Photos: Nearly Nude Yorkshire Woman Protests Bearskin Caps

Photos: Nearly Nude Yorkshire Woman Protests Bearskin Caps

Yorkshire – On Saturday, a group of PETA supporters wearing little more than bear masks and lying on “blood”-soaked Union Jack flags held a bloody “die-in” at London’s Marble Arch to protest the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) support of the slaughter of Canadian black bears, whose fur is used to make the caps worn by the Queen’s Guard.

Taking centre stage, Yorkshire woman Lorraine Carey sat in the middle of the action holding a sign reading “Stop the Bear Slaughter: MoD, Go Fur-Free!”

Photos are also available here.

It takes the hide of one bear to make a single cap. The MoD frequently makes the claim that the bearskins are the by-product of a “cull” overseen by Canadian authorities. Yet, as confirmed to PETA by both the federal and provincial Canadian governments, no such “cull” exists. Instead, the Canadian government issues “tags” to hunting enthusiasts, who are then free to bait and kill an allotted number of bears and sell their pelts for profit. Many bears are shot several times, and some escape and die slowly from blood loss, gangrene, starvation, or dehydration.

“The Ministry of Defence is using taxpayer funds to pay for caps made from the skin of slaughtered bears,” says PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “Every day that bears are blasted with bullets or arrows to be skinned for our soldiers brings dishonour to our country. Now that an animal-friendly replacement exists, the MoD must use it.”

Over £1 million of taxpayer money has been spent on 891 bearskin caps over the past seven years, but ECOPEL has offered to provide the MoD with faux bear fur free of charge until 2030. A government petition on the issue has been launched. When it reaches 100,000 signatures, a much-needed parliamentary debate about the bearskin hats will take place.

PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – opposes speciesism, a human-supremacist worldview. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram.

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