Bear Skins

[anotheoldgit]

Should the Canadian Black Bear's fur still be used to make "Bear Skins" for our Guards Regiments?
I know from first hand experience that some "Bears Skins" are indeed made from synthetic fibres, and these are infact preferred by the soldiers, because they do not need as much grooming as the genuine article.

[LazyGun]

I am not a big fan of tradition for traditions sake. If there are alternative materials that do the job equally as well, they should use them IMO.

I caught the tail end of a news piece about the hunting of black bears in Canada, and I think it said 10,000 a year were being slaughtered. Seems more than a little excessive. Plus which you got these useless hunter types coming up from the US who couldnt hit a barn door at 3 paces trying to kill them, and wounding them badly rather than killing them outright. In general, they seemed more concerned with making their home videos and playing with bows and arrows.

[The Big Gill]

I wouldn't be surprised if there wasn't a time when when guardsmen wore something other than a bearskin. Wouldn't it be a great PR stroke if Prince Charles took it upon himself to redesign the Guards uniform, and topped it off with a nice cap instead?

[The Big Gill]

*was*