One of the most disgusting things about the people in charge of those idiotic hats is when they were offered alternatives, they rejected them because "it doesn't have as much bounce as real fur." Last I checked, nobody gave a crap about the fashion of the guards. Nobody is running around petting all of the hats saying "Ooo, it's so bouncey!" They're guarding the queen, not strutting around on a runway!

Posted by: Brianna Fritchey | August 13, 2007 04:02 PM

It's time for the english court to make an end to this bear abuse and go cruelty-free and thank you so much - Lucy Davis - for doing this lovely and very important ad for PETA!

And many thanks also for Glenda Jackson and Sir Roger Moore for speaking up!

Posted by: Okumi Yamamura | August 13, 2007 06:50 PM

Brianna, I am amazed.

Grown men worried about "bounciness" like some kind of shampoo ad bimbo?

Has the world gone mad?

Orwellian

Posted by: kelly | August 13, 2007 07:16 PM

The UK by and large is a very pro-animal place. Since this would be such a small thing to do (go synthetic) and would save the British taxpayers money, I don't understand the resistance. Thanks to Jeff Beck, one of my all-time favorite guitarists, for supporting the campaign.

Posted by: Mike Quinoa | August 14, 2007 09:39 AM

What's even worse, is that in Canada we have these guards with the same uniforms and hats, but they are not guarding anyone. It's just for show because we are still part of the British Commonwealth. So bears are dying needlessly for a bit of tradition. I got 60 friends and co-workers to sign a petition that I sent to PETA UK last year, but when I was asking people to sign, one person actually refused to do so because the killing of the Canadian black bears is a "way of life" for northern people. I still cannot believe that people will justify such barbaric actions with the pathetic "it's the way it has always been done" and "you will be putting people out of work" arguments.

There are synthetic options, which the British government has known about for years. They were given faux-fur hats by PETA some time ago, but they said that they had to spend several years "testing" it out. WTF??

It is incredible that bears are being sacrificed for "bouncier" hats. The people that support the culling of the black bears should be ashamed of themselves.

Posted by: Michele | August 14, 2007 10:38 AM

I signed a petition encouraging the MoD to use faux-fur & they sent me a letter saying that they had not yet found a suitable alternative as the cruelty free hats failed to maintain their shape when wet. Surely bears' lives are much more important than 'bouncy' hats that keep their shape?! I think the MoD need to get their priorities sorted.

Posted by: Sinead | August 14, 2007 05:41 PM

"the synthetic hats dont retain their shape when wet??" Are you serious?! treating the fluonce of the hats like the guards are on an olympic swimming team or something - I dont see them swimming laps in the fountains! This is rubbish, i use synthetic hair with my painting brushes which actually DO get alot of water action and they work just like any 'real' hair brush. Bears arent worth our superficiality

Posted by: stasya berber | August 14, 2007 11:40 PM

Hey all! I've just today posted off a letter to Des Browne MP (who's secretary of defense here in the UK) stating my disgust at the bear hats, and urging for a cruelty-free alternative. I'm really glad though that Lucy Davies is speaking up for this campaign. Not alot of people I've spoken to in the last few days knew that the hats were made from real bear pelts!

It's time that the UK government came out of the dark ages and started to use faux-fur. After all, who on earth cares if the hats aren't 'bouncy' enough? Surely the guards are there to 'protect' the queen, and not strut around like peacocks!

Posted by: Lisa | August 15, 2007 09:41 AM

And just how many bears do you think are going to be "saved"?

Answer, 0.

Bear fur is a natural,renewable resource and is a byproduct.

What you are advocating is to throw the fur in the garbage instead of finding more uses for it. Since the bears are going to be killed anyway then to respect the loss of life the animal should be used to every extent possible.

Posted by: Mars | August 16, 2007 04:53 PM

Mars, what the hell do you mean "the bears are going to be killed anyway"? The only reason the bears are being "culled" is for these hats. What a specious argument! If some twits did not need "bouncy" hats, the bears would be able to live the life to which they are entitled. It is complete arrogance for some humans to decide that they can use these animals for fashion's sake, and you are arrogant for agreeing with them. Did you actually think that people just find dead bears lying around so they decide to use the fur for hats? You are a fool!

The fur, hair, etc. from bears and other animals are NOT "resources". If you really think so, then you are included in that logic, because humans are animals after all. If your byproducts are also a resource, then it would be okay for someone else to use you for their own purposes. So a bald person could scalp you if you had nice hair and they thought it would make a nice wig.

But wait, you mean you would not want to be scalped? I guess if non-human animals had a voice, they would also be saying they did not want to be killed. PETA and other similar organizations exist because animals have no voice, and they cannot take a stand against humans with their powerful weapons.

Posted by: Michele | August 17, 2007 09:43 PM

"The fur, hair, etc. from bears and other animals are NOT "resources". If you really think so, then you are included in that logic, because humans are animals after all."

Yep, I'm human and an animal and just as natural to the system as any animal.And like all predators, I eat meat.

Posted by: Mars | August 20, 2007 08:54 AM