Thank you for contacting me about the phasing out of experiments on animals and the use of fur for bearskin caps. I appreciate your feelings on the matter and understand how important animal welfare is.
I would like to reassure you that the UK's rigorous regulatory system ensures that no animal testing or research takes place if a non-animal alternative exists that would achieve the scientific outcomes sought. The National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs) is the UK’s leading scientific based organisation dedicated to replacing, refining, and reducing the use of animals in scientific research and testing. The NC3Rs supports the research community to use the latest science and technology to replace animal studies, providing new approaches for biomedical research, and avoiding the time and cost associated with animal models.
Without animal testing it is highly likely that a large number of potentially dangerous new medicines would be tested in healthy volunteers and patients in clinical trials. This would be completely unacceptable. That said, I welcome the Government's commitment to the development of non-animal technologies. Such technologies have the potential to reduce the reliance on the use of animals, improve the efficiency of drug research and development, and deliver safer, cheaper, and more effective medicines to patients. Ministers have also stressed that they continue to actively support and fund the development and dissemination of techniques that replace, reduce, and refine the use of animals in research. I understand how important this research is in reducing animal testing, and I will continue to follow this as it develops.
Regarding your concerns about the wearing of bearskin caps, I know that Guardsmen take great pride in wearing the bearskin cap, which is a celebrated image of Britain, and the Ministry of Defence (MOD) is very sparing in the acquisitions that it makes. Individual soldiers do not possess their own hats, rather they are cared for and shared within the Household Division, and, despite their constant use, every effort is made to carefully prolong the longevity of each ceremonial cap. On account of this, they usually last for more than a decade, with some having been in use for as long as 60 years.
That said, I can assure you that the MOD would like to find an alternative material to bearskin should one prove acceptable. This is a commitment the MOD takes very seriously. The MOD have not to date seen evidence that a suitable faux fur product exists to be considered as an alternative. Until that material is sourced and proven, I can assure you that the UK goes to great lengths to ensure that the pelts that make the King's Guards caps are procured in the most responsible way possible.
Let me be clear, bears are never hunted to order for the MOD. Bear pelts used for the King’s Guards’ ceremonial caps are sourced exclusively from Canada precisely because it is a regulated market and a declared party to the convention on international trade in endangered species of wild fauna and flora.
I recognise how essential it is to ensure animal welfare standards are upheld and protected, I am pleased that since 2010, the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has had a strong track record in reforms. This includes: a ban on the use of conventional battery cages for laying hens; mandatory CCTV in slaughterhouses across England; a ban on the use of wild animals in circuses; the strongest ivory ban in the world; mandatory microchipping of dogs; and new regulations for minimum standards for meat chickens; and the modernisation of the licensing system for dog breeding and pet sales.
In Cornwall, we can see the work of the Environment Land Management Scheme (ELMS). ELMS works with farmers to protect and improve natural environments. ELMS aims to give subsidies to farmers for improving soil health, preventing water pollution, restoring habitats, reducing agricultural emissions, reducing inorganic fertiliser and pesticide use and improving animal welfare. This is incredibly important in ensuring farm animals and wildlife are protected in rural areas, whilst also making food production more resilient and efficient over the longer term while contributing towards the UK’s environmental goals on carbon, biodiversity, water quality and net zero.
Once again, thank you for taking the time to write. If you require any further assistance on this or any other issue, please do not hesitate to get in touch.
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