An appeal for old fur coats has been made by an Aberdeenshire wildlife rescue charity that uses them as bedding for orphaned baby animals.
The New Arc centre north of Ellon has a handful of real fur coats people have donated over the years which it uses for sick or injured young mammals that come into its care.
This weekend, manager Keith Marley used one of their jackets to provide a “super snuggly bed” for a very hungry otter nicknamed Baby Belle, who was found lost and alone by a roadside this weekend.
Keith, who believes this is “the only acceptable use for a real fur coat these days”, said that the centre has tried all sorts of alternatives over the years, but real fur provides the best way to reproduce the feeling of being close to mother for the animals it rehabilitates.
Fur coats used by New Arc are ‘very reminiscent of mum’ for baby animals
The three or four fur coats used in rotation as bedding for animals at the New Arc are of great comfort to its youngest residents.
“We’ve tried various soft toys and things like that in the past,” said Keith.
“But, in our experience nothing beats a real fur coat.
“They’re a real comfort to baby otters, squirrels, rabbits, foxes, it’s good to have something like that to snuggle up to that’s very reminiscent of mum.”
Baby Belle the tiny otter from Monymusk on the road to recovery thank to fur coat donation
Keith explained that one of New Arc’s latest guests is really benefitting from being able to sleep and get comfort from one of the centre’s fur coats.
Baby Belle the young otter was found on Saturday night, struggling by a roadside near Monymusk.
Despite waiting around for a good period of time, her rescuers were unable to find her mother, and the youngster was taken into New Arc’s care to prevent her being hit by a car.
Keith explained she has been nicknamed Baby Belle, as when she was first brought in there appeared to be fresh blood on the towel she was wrapped in.
However, it turned out to just be wax wrappers for cheese which was being eaten in the car of her rescuers.
She is only around five weeks old, and weighs just under 1kg (2.2lbs), and will remain in New Arc’s care for around 12 months before she is released back into the wild where she belongs.
Keith continued: “The difficult part is keeping her wild. We have to try to not mother her or handle her too much.
“But we’ve got the right set-up and the enclosures for her, and we’ve got another otter in at the moment too.
“So she won’t be completely alone, she’ll have some interactions with other otters.”
How you can donate your old fur coats to New Arc
Keith said New Arc welcomes donations of any old real fur coats, and these can be made at the centre’s charity shops in Ellon and in Dyce.
He said anyone dropping off coats should tell the staff that they are taking them in specifically to be used at the centre for animal bedding.
Keith said: “Most people who donated them inherited them from their mum or grandma, and didn’t know what to do with them.
“Folk don’t want to put fur coats back on the market because that helps promote the fur industry, and most people don’t want to wear them for obvious reasons.
“But this is a very suitable use for them, and we’re very glad to accept them as donations.”
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