Post by Viv on Aug 20, 2009 12:53:41 GMT 1
In the past five years alone, more than £300,000 of taxpayers' money has been spent on the fur from black bears who were trapped, shot and skinned by hunters in Canada. The reason the Ministry of Defence (MoD) is investing in this slaughter? To make ceremonial fur caps for The Queen's Guards. The caps serve no military or practical purpose – but a bear suffered and died for every single one.
Each year, as many as 50,000 black bears in North America are caught in steel traps or lured with food and then gunned down. One in seven doesn't die outright but limps or crawls away to die slowly and agonisingly from gangrene, dehydration or starvation – or is left for days to suffer in the trap until a hunter returns.
The hunters show no mercy. Video footage obtained by PETA shows them laughing as they shoot down a mother bear and her terrified cubs hiding in a tree and swapping offensive sexist banter as they peel the skin from a young female bear.
I know you share my view that it's morally indefensible to cause any animal to suffer and die in order to steal their skin. But to know that the UK government actively colludes in wholesale slaughter like this beggars belief. And for what? A frivolous piece of fancy dress – that could easily be made from synthetic material – with no function beyond amusing tourists!
By harnessing our expertise and resources, we're fighting against this outrage at every level – from holding attention-grabbing street demonstrations to engaging in high-level lobbying.
Please sign our petition calling on the MoD to use the perfectly suitable synthetic alternatives to real fur that are already available. Every person who speaks out for bears by signing our petition and every donation we receive brings us closer to success.
By exposing the truth about the origins of The Queen's Guards' caps, we've convinced people from every walk of life to speak out against this government-funded cruelty. From respected politician Tony Benn to the entire cast of Coronation Street, compassionate people are speaking out for bears.
We even have the support of top fashion designers such as Stella McCartney, who's offered to redesign the caps using one of the luxurious and realistic faux furs we've sourced. We're doing our best to help the Ministry of Defence abandon real fur, but they're just feeding us the same tired excuses they've been trying to palm off on us for years.
Despite the world-class technological expertise of our army, the MoD claim that creating fake bear fur is "technologically challenging"!
By keeping up the momentum of our campaign, we can continue to challenge the Ministry of Defence's outdated and inhumane position and to present them with alternatives until they run out of excuses. Your input is vital. Please sign the petition and become part of a campaign that is growing in strength and determination and that will not be silenced until we've achieved our goal.
Please sign the petition
action.peta.org.uk/ea-campaign/clientcampaign.do?ea.client.id=5&ea.campaign.id=2154