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    Coronation Street star Kate Ford has bared all as part of a poster  campaign urging the Ministry of Defence to stop using bearskin for The  Queen's Guards' caps.
The actress said she was angry about the  suffering that bears in Canada endured when they were baited, shot,  killed and skinned just to be part of British soldiers' uniforms.
Ford  took part in campaign as her character Tracy Barlow returned to Corrie  this week after being allowed out from prison for her grandmother's  funeral.
And the timing was expecially pertinent as the Grenadier  Guards were marched into Buckingham Palace yesterday for an inspection  by the Queen and a photoshoot.
In the sexy ad, shot by People for  the Ethical Treatment of Animals (Peta), the star is pictured next to  the slogan: 'Bare Skin, Not Bearskin'.
The poster continues:  'Bears suffer and die for The Queen's Guards' caps.
'Support the  campaign to end this cruelty. Visit PETA.org.uk.'
The ad is part  of Peta's campaign to persuade the Ministry of Defence (MoD) to stop  killing bears for the Buckingham Palace Guards' ceremonial headgear.
Kate's  campaign was shot by photographer Karl Grant, and it is being released  to coincide with Kate's return to the ITV soap.
She said: 'I would  never have dreamed of posing nude, but when Peta showed me the footage  of the bears being shot and skinned just for the sake of these  ornamental Guards' caps, I decided to be brave and show some of my skin  in the hope that the MoD will let the bears keep theirs.
'The  cowardly hunters even bait the bears with food before ambushing them.  When mother bears are killed, their cubs are left to slowly starve to  death.
'This breaks my heart. I think it is despicable of the MoD  to use taxpayers' money to fund this cruelty overseas when there are  synthetic faux furs available.'
Peta US obtained video footage of  Canadian bears as they were killed by a method called 'bait and shoot', a  practice in which bears are lured to barrels of food and shot at close  range.
The animal rights organisation said many bears were shot  several times, and those that escaped died slowly from blood loss,  gangrene, starvation or dehydration.
Peta said that when mother  bears were killed, orphaned cubs were left behind to starve and that  typically 70% of orphaned cubs died within one year.
Kate joins a  long list of celebrities including Pamela Anderson, Lucy Davis,  Morrissey, Julian Clary, Sadie Frost, Mary McCartney, Sir Roger Moore,  Twiggy, Jilly Cooper, Hayley Mills and Amanda Holden who have condemned  the slaughter of bears for The Queen's Guards' ceremonial caps.
An  MoD spokesperson said: 'No bears are killed specifically for bearskin  hats for the British Army.
'All bearskins used in the UK are  sourced from Canada where bears are culled under the direction of the  Canadian government to keep the bear population under control.
'The  MoD remains open to testing material that industry might offer us to  assess whether a faux fur meets the requirements for a replacement  bearskin hat material.
'So far industry has not been able to  produce a suitable material to meet the Guards' requirements.'
Peta  is a UK-based charity dedicated to establishing and protecting the  rights of all animals. It aims to educate policymakers and the public  about cruelty to animals and promote an understanding of the right of  all animals to be treated with respect.
It works through public  education, research, legislation, special events, celebrity involvement  and protest campaigns.
Source : Kompas.com