Morning:
9°c
With a single dessert and just two glasses of wine our bill was kept in check - but the effort of doing so was not much fun
EXCLUSIVE: David Cameron reveals his faith in God, his fear of failure and his dread that another of his children could die
More...
Cruelty row over British Army bearskins
Last updated at 00:07am on 14.09.06
The fur from one black bear makes a cap
The British Army was last night condemned for fuelling a fur trade which leaves baby bears orphaned.
Animal rights groups criticised officials for buying the left over skin of black bears from tourist-hunters in Canada. In recent years thousands of American hunters have crossed the border to shoot bears for pleasure. The Army has then been buying the fur to use in making the famous bearskin hats.
Animal welfare groups criticised the army for demanding that the fur for Buckingham Palace guardsmen is culled in springtime when it is at its thickest.
This is also the time for breeding and thousands of baby bears are left orphaned after their mother's are shot by tourist hunters. What the hunters leave behind is sold on to the British Army.
A spokeswoman for Peta (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) said: "It is inexcusable. Tradition has never been a means of justifying cruelty.
"The Ministry of Defence has been dragging its feet for years and this organisation which has so much money at its disposal, and can launch a missile even, can't find a replacement material for fur. These hats are not bullet-proof. They are purely ornamental."
She added: "Fur farming has been banned in the UK because people do not like it. Yet tax payers money is being used to buy these hats even though the public doesn't agree with them.
"There is no kind way of skinning an animal whether it is a fox or bear. The British Army could save hundreds of bears every year."
A spokesman for Tony's Cub Rescue Centre which tries to save baby bears left orphaned in British Columbia said many of the bears whose pelts are sold on die slow deaths after being inexpertly shot by tourists.
He said: "We only save a very small percentage." It was also revealed that bears are enticed with meat, doughnuts and even honey in order to make them easier for paying hunters to shoot. The spokesman added: "It is like shooting fish in a barrel."
The British Army has spent £321,000 in the last five years on 431 bearskin "caps" at the cost of the tax payer. Last night a spokesman for the MoD said the bear fur trade was a matter for the Canadian government. The MoD has been researching the use of fake fur for bearskin hats for nearly 20 years but has not as yet found one it considers suitable. The standard bearskin of the British Foot Guards is 18 inches tall, weighs one and a half pounds and is made from the fur of the Canadian black bear. Some which are still in use are over 100 years old. The fur of an adult black bear is used to make one complete cap.
Reader views (11)
The bear skins that the MOD purchase are not shot on demand. The Canadian government allows bear hunting as a sport (like fishing in this country) and people can buy a licence to kill one or two a year. These licences are allocated by the wildlife services who decide what the bear population should be.
These bears would be shot ayway and the furs, destroyed, or hung in hunters hallways (if you can shoot one a year, how much room do you have in your house to hang bearskins?)
Not making guardsmen's hats from bearskin will not save a single bear!
- Paul, Greenwich
Don't wear bears - it's sinful.
- Sue Smith, Wallington, England
The MoD have been 'dragging their heels' over this issue for years. There are non-animal (faux) furs available - they just don't want to use them! However, even if there wasn't a suitable alternative synthetic fur available, this is no excuse not to dump the real fur. Surely, the MoD could commission a new 'non-fur' design altogether - maybe move into the 21st century. Tradition is never an excuse for animal cruelty!
- Garry Sheen, Southend-on-Sea, UK
I am all for traditions but not at the expense of innocent animals. No animal should be killed for fashion, sport or tradition.
- Susan L. Averiss, Coquitlam B.C. Canada
We've still got plenty of bears whilst you don't seem to have enough soldiers to fulfill your commitments in Iraq and Afghanistan. Suggest the 'animal rightists' turn their attention to something more worthwhile or come here and let the lovely bears and cougars gobble them up!
- Ralph Smith, Victoria BC Canada
I am totally disgusted at the thought of those poor bears murdered for HATS!
- Davina Morgan, UK
Good comments, Bob. When a black bear is shot in Canada, it's rarely for sport (and sport hunters tend to keep the pelts) but because the animal has become a nuisance. I've lived in remote communities where bears would come right into town looking for an easy source of food. Despite efforts to relocate them (and there is no shortage of natural habitat or food sources for these animals) and securing food and garbage to avoid attracting them, some of these bears insist on returning time and again. Not just wandering around the streets, but eating from gardens and even breaking into houses. One of my neighbours had a bear come through his kitchen window three times and wreck his house, even though the wildlife department had moved the bear many miles away. At that point, sadly, the only option is to shoot the bear. Unpleasant, yes, but the fur can at least be put to some use. In my experience, every effort is made not to waste an animal if it must be shot.
- Judy, Toronto, Canada
After a 40-year career in wildlife conservation, I came to know something about black bears. As usual, the animal rights lobby mixes lack of knowledge with untruths to mislead people. The bears used by the British Army are not shot by tourists for pleasure, they are taken by trappers, living in areas where there are no other jobs, who use the income to feed families. The idea that large numbers of bear cubs are orphaned by this activity is entirely wrong. It just doesn't happen like that. And no bears would be saved by the Army's not buying bearskin caps... black bears in Canada are overpopulated and thousands are destoyed every year as problem animals. Before anyone signs on to a slick animal rights campaign, they should consider what effect the outcome will have on thousands of Canadians who badly need the income. Also, a bear that dies at the hands of mother nature - as all that are not taken by humans must - suffers far more than one taken by a trapper. Ending the taking of bears by people would not lessen animal suffering - it would greatly increase it. Please think about it.
- Bobcarmichael, Keewatin, Canada
For nearly two centuries, the MoD has waged a war on black bears while doing nothing to further the search for synthetic materials. In fact, when it was presented with high-tech synthetic materials by PETA - sourced from leading faux-fur manufacturers around the world and made to the MoD's own specifications - the MoD was quick to make negative and highly ironic comments about the faux fur, saying that it "lacks life" and "doesn't bounce back".
Instead of financially supporting the shameful slaughter of black bears, Great Britain should set a compassionate example by switching to a humane and progressive alternative and committing to stopping the killing. These hats are purely ornamental and serve no military purpose - they are hardly bullet proof! 'Tradition' is no justification for such blatent cruelty and can hardly stand up as an arguement when the army band marches to a conventional tune called 'copa cabana' before the changing of the guards at Buckingham Palace every other day.
- Anita, London
Having served in the Foot Guards and worn a bearskin of caps of fur and synthetic material, I can honestly say that the only one is the real one. The anti-fur lobby have no argument, as yet again their research is in adequate, the fur that is used by the Army is from the Candian Government's stock pile of fur after the annual cull of balck bears and not from tourist hunters selling their furs to the MoD. If the MoD can find away to give Guardsmen an alternative that works and looks right I am sure that they will, so far despite repeated attepmts this has failed.
- George, London
You can safely ignore PETA. They tend to be the self hating children of millionaire lawyers from Hampstead. While daddy is out earning their living, they protest.
- Willstead Ash, London
