“Not only we believe it is our duty to protect wildlife, but also we think there is no excuse when high-quality alternatives exist.”

Animal rights group PETA has urged King Charles to wear faux bear fur at his first Trooping the Colour as monarch.

The organisation sent His Majesty a letter, along with a sample of the world’s first faux bear fur made by luxury faux furrier ECOPEL.

PETA also offered to create a customized faux fur cap to replace the traditional ornamental headpiece, typically crafted from a slaughtered bear’s skin.

 It takes the skin of at least one bear to make a single cap.

Animal cruelty for ornamental headgear

In Canada, recreational hunters are granted tags to kill bears.

In certain provinces, it is legal to use firearms, spears, and even traditional bows and arrows for hunting, which often results in the animals being wounded and left to die slowly from blood loss.

As some of the bears may be mothers, this cruel practice can lead to the deaths of entire families, as the orphaned cubs are left to starve.

The letter further noted that ‘95% of Brits reject fur and the vast majority agree that taxpayer money should not be used on caps made from the skin of slaughtered bears’.

A Freedom of Information request in 2020 revealed that each cap costs an astounding £1,710, even though they serve no military purpose.

The UK’s Ministry of Defence (MoD), has reportedly spent more than £1 million of UK taxpayer funds on bear fur hats in the last nine years.

The MoD must ditch animal fur

Leading faux-furrier ECOPEL has built custom machinery to create faux fur. Laboratory testing has shown that the animal-free fabric performs just as well or even better than real bear fur. It’s also more eco-friendly and can easily be made entirely waterproof.

The faux fur company even offered specially designed, free faux fur until 2030.

“Not only we believe it is our duty to protect wildlife, but also we think there is no excuse when high-quality alternatives exist,” ECOPEL said in a statement.

“This fabric is 100% victim-free. In offering a supply for free for the next 10 years, the MOD could save a considerable amount of money and dedicate it to important issues.

“Last but not least, faux fur is a much lighter material which is a positive aspect for the guards’ health: it has a lesser weight on their neck.”

The MoD is yet to consider fur-free alternatives to traditional bearskin hats.

‘A modern king’

PETA hopes King Charles will follow in the footsteps of his mother, the late Queen Elizabeth, who decided to go fur-free during her reign, realising that fur is no longer acceptable in the 21st century.

In a post to Instagram, the charity wrote: “Wearing a faux-fur cap to the Trooping the Colour ceremony would show the world that the UK has a modern king who reflects the values of the British public, while also respecting tradition.”

• Read: King Charles bans foie gras from all royal residences over cruelty concerns

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