Queen Elizabeth Dogged by PETA 'Bear' During Royal Visit

End Killing of Canadian Black Bears for The Queen's Guards' Caps, Says Group

For Immediate Release:
July 2, 2010

Contact:
Alana Mowbray 757-622-7382

Winnipeg, Manitoba -- A PETA member dressed in a bear costume will follow Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II throughout her visit to Canada in the hope of inspiring her to get the British Ministry of Defence (MoD) to replace the Canadian bearskins that are used to make The Queen's Guards' caps with non-animal materials. Holding a sign reading, "God Save the Bears!" the "bear" will greet The Queen as she arrives at the Government House in Winnipeg:

When:   Saturday, July 3, 4:20 p.m. 

Where:  Government House, 10 Kennedy Street, Winnipeg

It can take one bear's entire hide to make just one guard's headpiece. The skins come from Canadian black bears who are often shot several times before they die. Some escape the hunters and bleed to death. When mother bears are killed, orphaned cubs are left behind to starve.

"We love pomp and circumstance as much as anyone--but not when it causes mother bears to be shot to death for hats and leaves baby bears orphaned," says PETA President Ingrid E. Newkirk. "No tradition on Earth can justify this cruelty."

For years, PETA U.K. has been pleading with the MoD to end the slaughter--and has even presented it with several cap alternatives made from the finest faux furs available--but the group has been met with one excuse after another.

Many high-profile supporters--including Sir Roger Moore, Morrissey, Stella McCartney, Pamela Anderson, Twiggy, and Ricky Gervais--have joined PETA U.K. in calling for a ban on the use of bear fur in The Queen's Guards' headwear.

For more information, please visit UnBearableCruelty.com.