A BUCKINGHAMSHIRE woman has protested against the use of bearskin being used for the King's Guard's caps.

On Friday, January 23, a group of PETA activists dressed in little more than bear masks covered in bloody arrow wounds in front of the Ministry of Defence's headquarters in London.

Molly Elsdon, 25, of Winslow, Buckinghamshire, sat in the middle of a circle of Union Jack flags to protest its support of Canadian black bears being killed for bearskin caps.

The MoD argue bears are not being hunted for them and the bear pelts used are a "product of legal and licensed hunts".

PETA has recently shared a video showing bears baited with food, shot with crossbows and killed by recreational hunters in Canada.

They claim this is the source of the fur being used to make the King's Guard's caps.

Molly Elsdon said: “By using taxpayer funds to buy bearskin caps, the government is creating an incentive for the gruesome slaughter of bears.

"These caps are a national embarrassment and taint every guard’s uniform with shame.

"PETA is urging the MoD to stop endorsing this barbaric practice and to make the switch to a superior, faux-fur replacement, which is ready and waiting to be rolled out.”

According to public records obtained by PETA, the MoD bought 498 bearskin hats between 2017 and 2022 – equating to nearly 500 slaughtered bears – even though PETA first offered the ministry a superior faux-fur produced by luxury faux furrier ECOPEL in 2017 and ECOPEL has committed to supplying an unlimited amount to the ministry for free for 10 years.

A Ministry of Defence spokesperson said: “Bears are not hunted to order for the Ministry of Defence and bear pelts used are a product of legal and licensed hunts.

“To date and to the Department’s knowledge, an alternative has yet to meet the standards required to provide an effective replacement for the bearskin ceremonial caps.”

Defra are currently working with the Animal Welfare Committee on a fur project, exploring how much fur is imported into the UK and the welfare standards behind these.

The MoD stood firm that bears are not hunted to order for the Ministry of Defence and bear pelts used are a product of legal and licensed hunts, authorised by Canadian provincial and territorial governments for the management of wildlife populations.

Bear pelts are sourced exclusively from the regulated Canadian market, in line with the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora.

Reductions in the number of bearskins procured would not reduce the numbers of bears being hunted.