Animal rights activists have accused the Ministry of Defence of wasting taxpayers’ money as the price of bearskin caps worn by the King’s Guard has soared to more than £2,000 apiece.
People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta) has been campaigning for the MoD to end the use of real fur in the caps for animal welfare reasons for more than two decades, calling the practice “preposterous and out of touch”.
A Freedom of Information request by Peta has now revealed the cost of the caps, made using fur from bears hunted in Canada, has soared by 30 per cent in a year to £2,040.
According to figures sourced by Peta, the MoD purchased 526 bearskin hats between 2017 and July this year.
It says the cost of the hats rose from £1,560 each in 2022, to £2,040 per cap in 2023.
The MoD has spent over £1 million of taxpayer money on the caps over the last nine years, Peta said, with 24 purchased last year alone.
“The government must heed the public’s wishes and stop propping up Canada’s cruel bear-hunting industry when it could be getting beautiful faux fur for free,” said Peta Vice President of Programmes Elisa Allen.
“Peta is calling on the Ministry of Defence to stop wasting taxpayer pounds on caps made from slaughtered wildlife and switch to faux fur today.”
The MoD responded: “We are open to exploring faux fur alternatives if they pass the necessary requirements – including safety and durability considerations”.
But “no alternative has met all those criteria to date”, it added.
In May, Queen Camilla pledged to buy no new fur products for her wardrobe. She had previously been criticised by Peta when in 2009 she was spotted wearing a rabbit fur stole during a tour to Canada.
She followed in the footsteps of the late Queen Elizabeth II, who switched to faux fur for new outfits from 2019.
The Ministry of Defence has been approached by the Standard.
