In 1998, Bryan Adams was promoted to the rank of Officer of the Order of Canada for his contributions to popular music and his philanthropic work to various causes. Twenty-six years later, the (Everything I Do) I Do It for You singer's commitment has led him to a new target that's close to home – the Canadian Armed Forces.
In a new PETA video shared exclusively with Advertising sign, the Grammy winner describes how bears suffer gruesome, drawn-out deaths because of the fur used to make decorative headdresses worn by CAF Ceremonial Guards. As PETA's graphic investigative material illustrates, recreational hunters in Ontario bait the animals with buckets of food before shooting them with crossbows, then gutting and dismembering them. While hunters save the bears' body parts as trophies, according to PETA, they also sell the skins to buyers who make ceremonial headdresses.
“Bears don't always die immediately. Desperate and in pain, some bears flee from hunters and suffer a slow, painful death from infection or blood loss,” Adams says in the video. “Nursing mothers are sometimes shot, leaving behind starving young, unable to survive on their own.”
“The Canadian government condones this cruelty by using real bear fur in their military hats, even though there is now military grade fake bear fur,” the musician concludes in the video. (PETA UK and luxury faux fur ECOPEL have developed a state-of-the-art faux fur replacement to use.) “Tell the Canadian government to stop cruelty and go fur-free.”
In a statement to Advertising signAndrée-Anne Poulin, a spokeswoman for Canada's Department of National Defence, explained that the DND and CAF have already transitioned to using synthetic fur “where possible,” citing a move away from the fur-lined winter accessories that dominated the 19th century.
“It is important to note that most of the bearskin hats worn by the Ritual Guard are over 20 years old and well preserved from the meticulous care they have received over the decades,” says Poulin. “DND/CAF refurbishes and extends the life of existing hats, making every effort to reuse only previously acquired bearskins.”
Animal rights aren't the only reason Adams is flying his flag. In February, the Grammy winner shared “Somebody's Daughter, Somebody's Son” an original song written for the Lorna Tucker-helmed documentary of the same name and is a call to action against the global fight against homelessness.
Watch the new video of Bryan Adams and PETA calling on the Canadian Armed Forces to stop using bearskins. (Warning: Video contains graphic content.)
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