Another broken promise by the Labour government putting animals in grave danger
OPINION - CHRIS PACKHAM: Public money is still being spent propping up a disgusting trade that belongs in the past century
By Chris Packham
Labour entered government promising what ministers called “the most ambitious animal welfare programme in a generation”. Welcome words to all of us who care about animals... Unfortunately, Canadian Black bears are unlikely to be impressed. In fact, they’re likely to end up dead.
Last week, newly released documents revealed that the Ministry of Defence had increased orders for the Guards' bearskin caps by 336% — from 22 in 2024 to 96 in 2025. So, while some ministers continue to champion animal welfare, one arm of the government is increasing its purchases of products made from the skins of animals shot in Canada. It's a curious way to demonstrate progress.
If this is “the most ambitious animal welfare programme in a generation”, we’ve got to be left wondering what a serious lack of ambition might look like. Maybe like also failing to end ‘trail hunting’, the import of trophy heads and allowing the continued torture of dogs bred for lab experiments…
But sticking with the bears, to add insult to injury, Freedom of Information requests show that the cost of each cap has also risen by nearly 8%, with taxpayers now footing a bill of £2,361 per hat. At a time when schools, hospitals and local authorities are being asked to do more with less, public money is still being spent propping up a disgusting trade that belongs in the past century.
We, the public, meanwhile, have moved on. Poll after poll shows overwhelming support for a ban on fur imports and little appetite for spending taxpayers' money on real bearskin caps. Labour's promise to ban fur imports offered hope that politics might finally catch up with public opinion. So far, that hope appears entirely misplaced.
But let's be clear, this isn't simply about keeping a promise. It's about doing the ethically and morally right thing. To make each cap, at least one bear is lured with bait, shot and skinned. Investigators say the animals do not always die immediately. Some flee wounded, in unimaginable pain. Some suffer prolonged deaths. Some are even nursing mothers, leaving dependent cubs to starve once they are shot. And for what? A ceremonial cap.
Bears are sentient, intelligent individuals, not accessories to state pageantry. They form social bonds, communicate through play and body language, and display complex emotional lives. Black bear mothers spend more than a year nurturing and teaching their cubs. They are not raw materials. They are certainly not pieces of unnecessary military equipment.
The MoD insists that no suitable faux-fur replacement exists. Which is a remarkable and inaccurate claim. Britain possesses one of the most technologically advanced armed forces on Earth. It operates cutting-edge surveillance systems, deploys sophisticated cyber capabilities and maintains a nuclear deterrent. Yet apparently, it cannot find a material capable of replacing a ceremonial fur cap. It's bloody bonkers.
The real obstacle is not practicality at all. It is a belligerent unwillingness to change. Fashion houses, retailers and designers across the world abandoned real fur years ago in favour of modern alternatives. Yet the MoD continues to behave as though replacing a ceremonial fur cap presents an insurmountable technical challenge.
Traditions endure when they evolve. Britain's institutions have adapted countless times over the centuries, embracing new technologies and changing social values. Military dress has never been frozen in time. Uniforms once incorporated beaver fur, leopard skin and other animal products that have long since been replaced. There is no reason why the Guards' iconic caps should not immediately evolve as well.
Crucially, none of this requires the abandonment of the caps themselves. The caps can remain. The ceremony can remain. The pageantry can remain. What must end is the use of fur from unnecessarily slaughtered and ever more precious wildlife.
It is one thing to shelve a manifesto commitment. It is quite another to increase demand for the very trade that commitment was supposed to challenge. More than 70,000 people have already joined PETA's call for the MoD to end its reliance on real bearskins to make its caps. Ministers would do well to listen. After all, this debate on fur was settled long ago. The only thing that remains in question is why this government is still choosing to sanction the killing of bears and use real fur when it no longer has any reason to do so. Why is that?
Chris Packham is a naturalist, environmental and animal welfare campaigner, author and television presenter on BBC Two's Springwatch.
