MPs in bid to ditch the bearskin

Dave Doogan is calling for bearskin to be replace by faux fur.

Angus MP Dave Doogan has joined 17 MPs representing Scotland in a bid to replace the bearskins, used for the caps worn by the Scots Guards, with faux fur.

The Scottish MPs have penned a letter tp the Ministry of Defence requesting that it get rid of the bearskin hats and replace them with a modern, humane alternative.

The letter reads: “Replacing the bearskin with faux fur would allow the history of the caps to endure in a way that reflects modern society’s respect for wildlife.

"We would be very pleased for Scotland to lead the charge and for our guards to pioneer this humane, modern cap.”

The MoD has long maintained that it is not wedded to the use of bearskin and would replace it with faux fur when a suitable fabric became available.

Therefore PETA, a charity, invested significant resources into developing a fabric with luxury faux furrier ECOPEL that satisfies the agreed-upon terms.

Yet, even though an independent fabric technologist found that the ECOPEL material performs in the same way as bear fur, the MoD has failed to uphold its side of the bargain.

As the MPs note in the letter, such abject cruelty does not reflect Scottish people’s “morals and values”.

They cite polls showing that the vast majority of Scotland’s population rejects fur and point to a recent survey showing that only 11% of citizens support the use of real fur for these ceremonial caps.