Fur Coats Donated To Newark Church After ‘Changes Of Heart’: PETA

NEWARK, NJ — Dozens of in-need Essex County residents will benefit from 50 people who had “changes of heart” and decided to give up their fur coats in the name of animal welfare, PETA reported.

On Tuesday, for the second year in a row, PETA donated 50 fur coats to St. Ann's Soup Kitchen's annual coat drive held at St. Rocco's Roman Catholic Church in Newark. Each coat was sent to the group by someone who “had a change of heart about the cruelty behind fur,” a spokesperson said.

"PETA can't bring back the rabbits, minks, and foxes who were caged and electrocuted for their fur, but we can still help those in desperate need," Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman said. "We encourage people everywhere to donate their fur or fur-trimmed coats to help those who have few options in life—the only people with any excuse to wear them."

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According to PETA:

“Most animals used for fur spend their lives inside tiny cages, where they frantically pace back and forth, gnaw on the bars, and mutilate themselves, before they're electrocuted, gassed, or poisoned. Those who are trapped in the wild may suffer for days before trappers arrive to shoot, strangle, beat, or stomp them to death.”

• See related article: PETA Protests Canada Goose Opening At Short Hills Mall
• See related article: PETA Purchases Ads To Protest Short Hills Mall Store

Some industry representatives have disputed PETA’s allegations of rampant abuse in the fur trade, however. Watch a video about the U.S. fur trade produced by the FurCommission USA below, and read the Fur Information Council of America’s “FICA Facts” here.

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Photos: PETA