From Fur Farm to Furever! Bringing Home 3 Fur Farm Survivors

The Red Riding Hood Rescue is a nonprofit organization, located in Middletown, Ohio, dedicated to saving wolfdogs in need, and we have just taken part in one of our most tragic rescues to date.

Just this month, the Humane Society of the United States, Director of Global Animal Disaster, contacted us about urgent need to find homes for 420 animals including skunks, raccoon, foxes, coyotes, wolves and wolfdogs. These animals were part of private farm, which was focused only on exploiting them. This industrial farm used these animals solely for collecting their urine and then killed them for their fur.

The 420 victims of this fur farm lived their entire lives in small, filthy and inadequate wire cages. Some of these cages were over-crowded, containing multiple animals and hardly allowing them any room to turn around, let alone move. Below their wire cages, there were only urine collection pans troughs, and of course, the build-up of feces as they never received any cleaning. There was no fresh water or food available to any of them. Many of these individuals were missing toes, paws, limbs, and tails from getting stuck in the wire caging. Or worse, from the leg hold traps surrounding the property to ensure they never had a chance at freedom if they managed to escape.

Each individual had a life sentence to living in painful caging, while suffering from illnesses, injuries, starvation and dehydration. And each individual watched their cage neighbor die and be replaced as another piece of property. And when winter arrived this year, many didn't stand a chance without shelter. But we are proud to announce we are changing the life sentence for 3 wolfdogs.

F19 is a young, frightened and fragile wolfdog who has spent his entire life in a small wire fox cage. He lived without any of the basic needs, such as shelter, bedding, veterinary care, enrichment, proper diet, exercise and even just space. He only had moldy kibble and dirty, frozen water. He was so weak and atrophied that when the severe winter weather hit, he wasn’t expected to survive without our commitment to save him immediately. F19 is one of 3 urgent rescues we swooped in to save from this horrific fur and urine farm in Ohio, just hours away from us. We want F19 to have a real life, a name, his individuality and his freedom. We want to give him soft bedding, rich food, sunshine, soft earth beneath his swollen paws and build up both his strength and confidence. We want him to experience love.

We weren't prepared to take on another rescue, let alone 3 more, but we had to help now. We will do whatever it takes to help them.

So, we are building new enclosures as quickly as we can to have them ready for him and the 2 other rescued wolfdogs we are taking in, who are also simply known by their cage numbers as well: C1-14A and C1-14B.

C1-14A and C1-14B pictured below.

F19, and others just like him, were considered a commodity…and then just a pelt. They were not seen as individuals, or worthy of living. We will change that.

From Fur Farm to Furever, welcome home F19, C1-14A and C1-14B.

In addition to getting a forever home, F19 is one of the lucky ones who will also get a special Valentine, either one of our 2 beauties, Skye or Wisteria. We knew we needed to separate these young girls through proactive management to prevent any future same-sex aggression. So, F19 will not only inherit a lovely large enclosure but he will have a lovely pen mate, and our girls will have a happy ending too.

Separating the girls was planned but now we are racing to build an additional enclosure to help C1-14A and C1-14B.

We couldn’t leave them behind, we couldn't separate them, and so we want them to experience a forever home with us too!

Any donation or contribution you make today will change the lives of these 3 rescues, they are going from Fur Farm to Furever!

Please help us spread awareness about fur and urine farms!

Many of these facilities are vastly unregulated, and force animals into life sentences of cruelty and abuse, just for their fur or urine. These are animals' lives; they are not meant to be treated as disposable property! These inhumane facilities are vastly unregulated, suffering no consequences while victimizing hundreds and thousands of lives. These are 3 of the faces that survived, but many weren't so fortunate.

Help us push fur farms to be non-existent today. Spread the word, contribute to our campaign and change the future for our 3 rescues, who deserve so much more than this!

F19 pictured below.

To read the press release visit: https://www.humanesociety.org/news/most-horrific-hundreds-foxes-raccoons-wolf-dog-hybrids-skunks-and-coyotes-rescued-fur-farm

FAQS about the Ohio fur and urine farm from the Humane Society:

The rescue operation:

On Saturday, Jan. 25, the Humane Society of the United States, Ohio authorities and multiple wildlife rehabilitators and sanctuaries completed a rescue operation of hundreds of animals from a fur and urine farm near Cleveland, Ohio.

The Ashtabula County Commissioner’s Office requested the assistance of the Humane Society of the United States after the owner of Grand River Fur Exchange died in late December 2024, escalating an already-dire animal welfare crisis on the property.

For several weeks, responders from the Humane Society of the United States and Ohio authorities provided daily care to the animals on the property while assisting with arranging placement for the animals with licensed wildlife rehabilitators and accredited sanctuaries around the country.

Ultimately, more than 330 animals from the property were able to be placed with wildlife rehabilitators and sanctuaries. Tragically, the only way to help other animals on the property was to humanely end their suffering through euthanasia; some had severe injuries and illness, and others simply had no safe place to go. Releasing animals unaccustomed to living in wild environments would have been inhumane, unsafe and potentially damaging to local ecosystems.

Conditions on the property:

Foxes, raccoons, wolf-dog hybrids, skunks, opossums and coyotes were living in filthy wire-bottom cages with little to no protection from the frigid conditions.

Some of the animals had missing toes, ears, tails and limbs. Veterinarians determined that animals likely lost toes due to the cages’ wire flooring, while the animals missing limbs and paws had likely been caught in steel-jaw leghold traps found around the property.

Many were emaciated and severely dehydrated, and several animals were found deceased and covered in snow.

Background on this facility:

The animals were being raised and slaughtered for fur, bred for sale as exotic pets, and held captive for urine farming. Some of the animals were bred in captivity while others were apparently imprisoned on the property after being trapped in excruciatingly painful leghold traps.

Documents found on the property indicate the owner sold pelts to Fur Harvesters Auction, the last remaining fur auction house in North America. Pelts sold at Fur Harvesters Auction are exported globally and used for home decor and fashion products, such as fur-pom hats and trim on gloves or shoes.

Background on fur/urine farming:

Predator urine is advertised for use in hunting, trapping, dog training, and ironically, as a “humane” wild animal deterrent for gardeners.

Animals in the fur trade suffer immensely, both in their daily lives and when they are killed, often with methods like gassing, anal electrocution or clubbing, which result in slow, painful deaths and are commonly used on fur farms because they prevent damage to the pelt. Responders found electrocution tools on the property.

By donating today, you can not only help us change the lives of our 3 new rescues but also be the voice for the vital change needed among Ohio laws about fur and urine farms.