King Charles Gifted Faux Bearskin for Trooping the Colour
King Charles Gifted Faux Bearskin for Trooping the Colour
London – Ahead of King Charles’ first Trooping the Colour as monarch, today PETA sent His Majesty a letter – along with a sample of the world’s first faux bear fur made by luxury faux furrier ECOPEL – offering to have a made-to-measure faux-fur cap produced for him to wear at his birthday parade, instead of the usual ornamental headpiece made from the pelt of a dead bear.
As the letter points out, the king’s support for a switch to faux fur would be in line with his passion for sustainability, reflect the values of the 95% of Brits who reject fur, honour the late queen’s decision to go fur-free during her reign, and encourage the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to end its use of real bear fur for the King’s Guard’s caps.
“Wearing a faux-fur cap to Trooping the Colour would show the world that the UK has a modern king who reflects the morals and values of the British public, while respecting tradition,” writes PETA Senior Campaigns Manager Kate Werner. “Your support for this switch would encourage the MoD to follow suit and usher in a new, kinder uniform for your guards.”
PETA notes that it takes the skin of at least one bear to make a single cap. In Canada, recreational hunters are granted tags to kill bears, and some even use bows and arrows. The bears are often shot several times before they die, while others escape only to bleed to death. The MoD long ago committed to ending the use of real bearskin for the caps once a suitable alternative was found, and recent laboratory tests confirm that ECOPEL’s faux bear fur performs as well as or better than real bear fur against the MoD’s five criteria for a faux fur.
PETA – whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear” – notes that the MoD has refused requests to meet with the group and denied access to its cap makers, even though ECOPEL has offered an unlimited amount of the faux fur free of charge until 2030 – which would save taxpayer money and many bears’ lives. A government e-petition in support of PETA’s campaign amassed more than 100,000 signatures from the UK public, triggering a parliamentary debate last July.
The letter is available upon request. For more information, please visit PETA.org.uk or follow the group on Facebook, TikTok, Twitter, or Instagram.
Contact:
Jennifer White +44 (0) 20 7837 6327; [email protected]
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