Bad Will Hunting

You know those silly looking hats that the British Royal Guards wear? Did you know that they’re still made out of real bear skin—and that it can take up to one whole bear to make just one cap? And that the bears’ deaths are usually anything but quick, clean, and humane? Bears are ensnared, sometimes for days, in painful traps. Sometimes they actually get away … but die much later from blood loss or starvation. And in some Canadian provinces, there’s nothing to stop the shooting of nursing mothers with cubs

So, since grizzly-bear hunting season is set to open next week in British Columbia—and a record 430 grizzlies were killed last year, mostly by trophy hunters (like the “gentlemen” pictured)—we recognize our responsibility to offer you an alternative perspective of this “blood sport.” I mean, hey, we’re PETA, isn’t it our job to lay it on the masses and get them off their asses to fight against these fascist practices? (Bragging rights to anyone who knows what that paraphrases.)

You can check out campaign news here. Demonstrations by PETA entities have spanned the globe—from naked protesters in Europe to a feisty activist dressed in bear suit that successfully stalked a Royal couple across the Caribbean. As always, there are sassy celebrity endorsements to encourage you to get involved too. Please do your part to save a bear and sign PETA Europe’s petition to U.K. Prime Minister Gordon Brown in support of bears.

Written by Missy Lane