Coats for Cubs: Give Your Furs Back to the Animals!

So, you’ve got some furs in your possession, and you’re not feeling great about it. Maybe they’re from back before you became aware of just how awful the fur industry really is, or maybe they’re hand-me-downs. Regardless, if you’ve got some furs you’d like to get rid of, now’s your chance! The Humane Society and recycled clothing company Buffalo Exchange are working together on a fur drive that will use those furs as comforting bedding for wildlife.

The Humane Society explains:

Our staff spends hours each week packing and labeling boxes of fur for shipping—not to fur shops, but to wildlife rehabilitators who use it as bedding for orphaned and injured wildlife such as raccoons, rabbits, foxes, squirrels, and even bobcats. Wildlife rehabilitators say the fur reduces stress in their animal patients, perhaps reminding them of the comfort of snuggling up to their mothers.

In one case, the fur from Coats for Cubs made the difference between life and death. Lynne Slater, a rehabilitator in Arkansas, received a week-old bobcat whose mother had been killed by a car. Slater tried removing the bobcat kitten from the bed at feeding time several times, but the kitten simply would not suckle a baby bottle. Then inspiration struck, and she cut a hole in a Coats for Cubs fur, stuck the baby bottle nipple through the hole, and voila, the kitten drank hungrily. This technique worked until weaning time. Slater said, “Without the Coats for Cubs program, we wouldn’t have been able to help this bobcat kitten survive. Thanks so much.”

Since the furs are going to the Humane Society, it doesn’t matter what condition they’re in. So bring your real fur apparel – including trims, accessories and shearling – to your closest Buffalo Exchange store anytime between November 15th and Earth Day.

If you don’t have a nearby Buffalo Exchange, pack up your furs and send them to the following address. Include your full name and address if you’d like to claim it as a tax deduction.

The Humane Society of the United States
2100 L. St. NW
Washington, DC 20037
attn: Coats for Cubs

This is really a great way to turn a terrible, cruel product into hope for animals in need.  If you know anyone who owns fur and isn’t aware of just how bad the industry is, send them to the Humane Society of the United States Fur-Free campaign website to learn more and ask them to donate their fur items to this very good cause.