Oct 16, 2006 - PETA Bear Followed the Queen Through Her Visit in The Baltics
On th 16th through the 19th of October the queen of the United Kingdom visited three Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia). During her visit, besides attending various other events, the monarch had meetings in public with the local people. During her visit PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), together with local animal rights activists, held actions in public. The actions were intended to encourage the UK’s Ministry of Defense to stop the use of black bears’ fur for making the hats of the queen’s home guards. Following a traditional, Her Majesty’s guards have been wearing hats made of bearskin since 1815, when the British defeated the French troops in the Battle of Waterloo and adopted the hats from them. However, nowadays the guards are used solely for representative functions.
The manufacturing of these hats claims the lives of thousands of bears every year, as the manufacturing of one hat requires the whole skin of one adult bear. Despite public pressure and 200 signatures of members of British Parliament, the queen’s administration refuses to replace the bearskin with synthetic materials, which are visually identical to natural bear’s fur. Moreover, the black bear is protected by CITES convention and is becoming extinct. Though the UK’s government claims that the bears are hunted in Canada, not in the UK, they are contributing to the killing by continuing to demand for the fur.
The action in Lithuania was held near the UK embassy where several activists participated, one of them dressed in a bear costume, holding a poster saying "Save my skin". This has been done in every country that the queen visits. Despite the fact that the demonstration was peaceful, two girls ("the bear" and a local organizer) were arrested. The police claimed that according to Lithuania’s legislation (The Gatherings Act) it is forbidden to hide one’s face during a demonstration or gathering, as it shows the intention to perform an unlawful action. Furthermore, they claimed that the demonstration ought to have had permission from the local authorities. However, as the lawyers of the Center on Projects and Investigations of Law (Lithuania) noted, according to Lithuania’s legislation, no permission is needed if the number of demonstrators does not exceed 10. Moreover, the claim that the girl was hiding her face with the intention to break the law is more absurd, as this was done solely to imitate a bear. Besides, the activist with the costume was under 18 years old. The press release of the Center states that "the police failed to evaluate the situation accordingly".
