Hundreds of Fur Coats Sent to Refugees in Jordan, Courtesy of PETA

For Immediate Release:
March 7, 2025

Contact:
David Perle 202-483-7382

Refugees who faced a bitter winter after fleeing life-threatening conflict in the Middle East were offered some respite from the cold, thanks to hundreds of donations of fur coats and accessories—all sent to PETA by people who had a change of heart about wearing fur. PETA donated more than 460 fur items to Michigan-based Life for Relief and Development for displaced families living in refugee camps in Jordan. The furs were distributed in camps located near Amman and Jerash, Jordan, with assistance from the Jordan Hashemite Charity Organization. Photos from the distribution are available here.

“My girls wore the coats and they were very nice, neat, and warm in this harsh wintery weather,” says Sukaina, a refugee currently living in Jordan. “We’d like to thank PETA for distributing the winter relief as coats.”

“We can’t bring back the animals who were killed for their fur, but PETA can think of no better use for unwanted furs than to help refugees stay warm this winter,” says PETA Executive Vice President Tracy Reiman. “PETA encourages everyone to donate their fur items to help the truly needy, who are the only humans with any excuse to wear it.”

Minks purr when they’re happy, and foxes are devoted parents who will share the responsibility of raising their pups. Animals raised and killed for fur are held in tiny, filthy cages on fur factory farms, causing some to self-mutilate and cannibalize their cage mates, before they’re electrocuted, bludgeoned, gassed, or even skinned alive.

PETA has worked with Life for Relief and Development for more than 15 years, ensuring that fur coat donations have reached people in need in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, and elsewhere. PETA also uses repurposed furs in informative displays and sends them to shelters for people experiencing homelessness and to wildlife rehabilitation programs to be used as bedding for orphaned animals. 

PETA—whose motto reads, in part, that “animals are not ours to wear”—points out that Every Animal Is Someone and offers free Empathy Kits for people who need a lesson in kindness. For more information, please visit PETA.org or follow PETA on X, Facebook, or Instagram.