PETA Adopts Bear As Wedding Gift For Royal Couple

For Immediate Release:
27 April 2011

Contact:
Sandra Smiley +44 (0)207 357 9229, ext 229; [email protected]

London – PETA has sent Prince William and Kate Middleton a unique gift that the group hopes will give the Royal couple paws for thought: the adoption of an adult black bear named Mama Bear from Aspen Valley Wildlife Sanctuary in Ontario, Canada. PETA has adopted Mama Bear on the couple’s behalf.

“We hope Will and Kate fall in love with this beautiful black bear and help everyone envision the coming day when Britain will no longer kill such magnificent bears for ceremonial caps”, says PETA spokesperson Mimi Bekhechi.

Many high-profile supporters – including Twiggy, Sir Roger Moore, Michael Sheen, Ricky Gervais, Ricky Whittle, Julian Clary, Amanda Holden, and wedding guest Joss Stone – have joined PETA in calling for a ban on the use of real bearskin in the The Queen’s Guards’ caps.

In Canada, mother bears are routinely killed so that their skins can be fashioned into the ceremonial caps worn by The Queen’s Guards. Hunters often destroy entire families, as orphaned cubs, unable to fend for themselves, typically fall victim to predation or starve to death. Many bears who are killed for their fur are shot several times before they die. Some escape wounded only to die later from blood loss, gangrene, infection, starvation or dehydration. Other bears are caught in traps, where they can languish in agony for days.