# Why are there no squirrel fur coats? **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [March 25, 2011, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967 "2011-03-25T14:18:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Cicero](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cicero/32/3594_2.png) [@Cicero](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Cicero)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 12:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967/21 "2011-03-26T12:38:22Z")
Squirrels are pretty hairy. No need to make coats for them. ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967/22 "2011-03-26T13:00:12Z")
> [@Lemur866](#): > > If you really want to economize you’d be better off making fur coats out of euthanized dogs and cats. Lots of valuable furs going straight into the landfill. Good luck creating a market. There is a market, but it involves someone with a rather cruel reputation whose name is similar to a mythological monster. ---
**Author:** ![Harmonious\_Discord](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/74df32/32.png) [@Harmonious\_Discord](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Harmonious_Discord)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967/23 "2011-03-26T13:23:41Z")
China uses dog fur for clothing so there is a market for dog fur. You can read many incidents about a retailer pulling their coats from sale in the USA after it becomes public knowledge that they have some coats with dog fur on them. ---
**Author:** ![Toxylon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f05b48/32.png) [@Toxylon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxylon)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 1:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967/24 "2011-03-26T13:40:30Z")
Dog fur has a reputation of having strong hair that doesn’t shed (in the finished product, as opposed to a living animal). Good quality stuff. ---
**Author:** ![thelabdude](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/dc4da7/32.png) [@thelabdude](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/thelabdude)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 2:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967/25 "2011-03-26T14:45:14Z")
> [@psychonaut](#): > > Maybe they eat squirrels in Szechuan cuisine. I know they’re not unheard of in English cuisine—there’s a restaurant near my office in London that often has squirrel on the menu. Why do you think people have squirrel rifles? To harvest food. I always stuck to rabbit, pheasant, and deer, but I know plenty of people that hunted and ate squirrel. I once worked with a guy that talked about the importance of shooting them between the eyes to avoid ruining any meat. I think he was from Kentucky. > [@Lemur866](#): > > If you really want to economize you’d be better off making fur coats out of euthanized dogs and cats. Lots of valuable furs going straight into the landfill. Good luck creating a market. Even the coyote is marketed as prairie wolf. I think most euthanized dogs and cats are incinerated or go to the rendering plant. Of the people I have known that trapped, they mostly caught muskrats. I seldom see muskrat coats advertised. Another name? ---
**Author:** ![jayjay](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jayjay/32/6765_2.png) [@jayjay](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jayjay)\ **Post date:** [March 26, 2011, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967/26 "2011-03-26T15:06:23Z")
> [@thelabdude](#): > > Of the people I have known that trapped, they mostly caught muskrats. I seldom see muskrat coats advertised. Another name? They used to be sold (dyed) as “Hudson seal”. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/why-are-there-no-squirrel-fur-coats/575967.md?page=1)