When I took my first steps into the Born Free USA offices last September, I had no idea that the neatly stacked totes of fur collecting in the corner of an office would soon turn into a massive mountain of fur that would eventually require its own storage unit. Each year, more and more individuals and organizations have donated to Born Free USA’s annual “Fur for the Animals” donation drive. During our 2016 donation drive, we received more than quadruple what we collected the year before—over 1,800 items worth an estimated $4.1 million! These items came to us from all over the country and the world, and we could not be more grateful.[teaserbreak]
The overwhelming success of this program serves as a powerful signal that fur belongs to the animals—not to fashion. Many of you wrote to us with stories of mothers, grandmothers, and even great-grandmothers who would be so pleased to see their treasured coats, stoles, and hats given back to the animals. It is absolutely heart-breaking to see the end products of nearly 60,000 animals’ suffering. But, it is humbling to know that, rather than wearing or selling your fur items, you chose to take them out of circulation and give it back to fur-bearing wildlife.
We have already sent out almost 1,000 pounds of fur to wildlife rehabilitators and sanctuaries. However, due to the stunning success of the 2016 drive, we are postponing the 2017 Fur for the Animals campaign until we are able to find appropriate recipients for the vast volume of donated fur that we still have in storage. To this end, in order to ease some of the costs and burden associated with storing the large amounts of donated fur, we are also looking to partner with humane groups that have found other alternative uses for the fur (though our first choice remains to send the fur to wildlife rehabilitation centers and sanctuaries).
In the meantime, if you have fur that you would like to donate, we encourage you to seek out local wildlife rehabilitators and see if they are able to accept fur items. You can find links to state agency lists of permitted wildlife rehabilitators here. If you would like to make a donation to help Born Free USA with the cost of storing and shipping the fur, you can do so here. And, don’t forget to check out the wonderful pictures we have received so far from our rehabilitator partners showing just how much the animals appreciate your donations and support.
Keep Wildlife in the Wild,
