At-risk animals can use your old fur coat

By Sue Manning
Associated Press

Posted: 02/18/2010 12:00:00 AM PST
Updated: 02/18/2010 07:20:30 AM PST

Got a fur coat gathering dust? The Humane Society suggests the ultimate recycling — putting it on the backs of animals.

The Coats for Cubs program by the Humane Society of the United States helps orphaned, injured or sick wildlife by gathering fur coats and using them for nests, bedding or cuddly replacements for Mom and Dad. In 2009, 2,687 fur items were donated.

"We use the discarded furs as bedding to give the animals comfort and reduce stress," says Michael Markarian, the agency's chief operating officer in Washington, D.C. "The fur garments act as a surrogate mother. It is a warm and furry substitute."

The coats go to wildlife rehabilitation centers that take in baby raccoons, chipmunks, squirrels, coyotes, skunks and other animals, and has helped thousands of animals since it began in 2005 with the Fund for Animals.

Markarian says many of the coats are donated by people who find fur coats for humans to be inhumane, whether the animals are trapped in steel-jawed traps or raised on factory farms. For those who have fur and no longer want to wear it, "This is a great way for them to give back to the animals," he says.

Amber Ginter, 13, from Kingston, Ohio, spent last summer collecting fur coats as part of a community project affiliated with the Humane Society. She put a box in her church, wrote a letter describing the project in the church bulletin and collected 30 coats in two months, she says.

"It was kind of sad to see all the furs, because you know they had to kill the animals to get them," says Amber, who wants to be a veterinarian or zoologist when she grows up.

The Florida Wildlife Center in Fort Lauderdale has used coats for wildlife babies in the past, but employees and volunteers had to scrounge for donations, twist arms or scour garage sales and thrift stores. After becoming a Humane Society affiliate in June, the center got three boxes full of furs and so is well stocked for baby season.

"It's a remarkable, generous way to make good of a tragic beginning. I know young people are involved in this effort. Bravo for understanding this better than adults and for seeing a positive way to help other animals," says Sherry Schlueter, managing director at the wildlife center.

It houses what is believed to be the largest wildlife trauma center in the United States, Schlueter says. Of the 12,000 animals cared for in 2009, just over 1,900 were orphaned babies, including about 1,000 gray squirrels, Virginia opossums and raccoons.

The center is expecting at least 1,000 additional baby animals in 2010 because a nearby wildlife rehab center closed last year.

The current Coats for Cubs coat drive ends on Earth Day, April 22, but the Humane Society will accept coats at any time of the year, Markarian says.

http://www.insidebayarea.com/pets-animals/ci_14422296