Some furs/skins cannot be legally sold in the United States at all: leopard, tiger, ocelot, cheetah, bear, gorilla, monkey, seal, and sea otter. Unfortunately, that covers most if not all of the animals you tend to see made into rugs. I'd suggest offering them to zoos and natural history museums as teaching collections, which seems more likely to be successful than offering to another historical institution. There are also wildlife rehabbers who make use of old furs in caring for baby animals: https://cuddlecoats.com/
If there are signs of any kind of infestation, though, I would go right to witnessed destruction so as not to spread the pests to another location or locations. The most ethical thing to do then is to simply discard them into the garbage.
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Cassidy Percoco
Collections Manager
Fenimore Art Museum
Cooperstown NY
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-08-2025 12:30 PM
From: Paula Phipps
Subject: Proper disposal question
Can anyone tell me the proper and ethical way to dispose of old animal skin rugs?
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