Stolen Fursuit Season (Tips + Advice)

I love Con-Season…so many amazing Furry Conventions to see, to go to, to watch YouTube and Facebook streams LIVE!!! It’s one of the many wonderful things that this fandom has to offer…but unfortunately, con-season also means the beginning of Stolen Fursuit Season.

Fursuits get stolen all the time, even when there are no conventions. It is something that happens…but there is always a huge spike in the number of missing Fursuits around convention-time, and it’s because thieves generally know what to look for and when to look for it.

And 9/10 times…a fursuit is stolen right out of a car!!!

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The earliest case of a stolen fursuit that I found this year was a premade head stolen from Space Cat Creations after the Further Confusion con in January of 2017. I reported on that head being stolen on January 17th, and never found out if it had ever been found.

While it may not be of this year…one of the more popular stories of a stolen fursuit happened in January of 2016 and also in the California area…Zarafa the purple giraffe had his vehicle broken into and his fursuit was stolen near the San Fransico area on January 30th. Luckily, he did find his fursuit, but it had been stuffed into a dumpster (from what I heard), and the suit did suffer from damages.
Most likely, the people stealing from Zarafa were just average thugs and did not realize what they had. They threw it away thinking they could not make any profit off of it which is why he got it returned to him…but sadly, for a lot of people that lose their Fursuits to thieves, that is not the case
(Also, saw him at TFF and the suit looks to be in great condition now)

But just here recently at BLFC 2017 (a few weeks ago), another suiter got his Fursuit head stolen out of vehicle…along with his passport and a bunch of other important things. Clumzy Lion had his rental car broken into where his stuff and the stuff of his friend (Felix the Fox) was taken. He offered a $200 reward for anyone who could find his suit, but nothing popped up. Also, he was supposed to return to Canada, but, without his passport it made things hard…
Luckily, a crisis fund pulled together $2200 for him so he could get an emergency passport among other thing (including a replacement head)- you can read all about the details HERE. No one has come forward about his original head, but we can all still hope that it is found and returned safely.

And this is not the only case of a stolen fursuit this month. In fact, someone was going around posting about a fursuit they had stolen from them YEARS ago, and it keeps getting sold online ILLEGALLY! The owner has found it multiple times and got in contact with the new owners to get it back, but then they post it up for sale again, and the owner loses the trail. And the more cons we have…the more stolen fursuits we will see.

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• Tips for avoiding Fursuit Theft:

—Unfortunately where there is a will, there is a way…and no method or amount of tips will keep you 100% safe from Fursuit theft. But, there are some smaller things you can do to lessen the chance of your Fursuit being stolen.

#1 Do NOT leave your Fursuit in your car!
—I know now that you can not wear a Fursuit all day at a convention (even if you want to) and you do not want to be carrying it around either. But, leaving your Fursuit in the car -even during a Furry Convention- is a BAD idea! Not all thieves are people outside of the fandom, some are furries themselves. And where do they look for Fursuits? At Furry Conventions, in the parking lot, where there is little to no security! That’s why most fursuits get stolen from cars! So, if you have decided that you are completely done suiting for the say, either leave your Fursuit in a friend’s room (who is staying at the main hotel), your own room (in the main hotel), or drive back to your hotel and put it away in a bag where it will be safe. Will this be tedious? Yes. Will it take time away from the con? Yes. But is it worth keeping your Fursuit a little safer from theft? YES!

#2 Do NOT let strangers wear your Fursuit!
—I do not know why I even need to post this, but I guess that letting people borrow your Fursuit is just a thing that people in the fandom do. I understand Fursuiting is fun, I understand that you want to share the joy of Fursuiting with everyone! But lets be real…a lot of these people, we do not really know them. We meet so many strangers at a convention and just because they are a Furry does not mean that they are friendly. Even letting friends wear a suit of yours and then letting them wander off is not always a good idea. I’m not saying a friend would steal a suit…but if they take it off for a moment and it gets stolen because you were not there, well, it will really be bad. Also, while it may not be a huge tip for Fursuit theft prevention, it’s a wonderful tip for Fursuit DAMAGE protection.

#3 Do NOT leave your Fursuit in the headless lounge!
—People do this! They leave their heads and other parts laying on the vents and the air blowers, and it seems like they would be safe because there are so many other Fursuiters…but no! Just no! Never just ‘leave’ your Fursuit anywhere! Not on a table, not in the lobby, not at the front desk, not anywhere!!! Not even in a panel room while you go get water…take your fursuit with you!!!

#4 Do not show anyone where you keep your Fursuit:
—People like to post their bags being packed as they get all hyped for the cons. I understand that excitement, but, being with a military woman all these years has shown me the dangers that come from posting the simplest and most harmless of things on social media. This includes what your bags look like and the contents inside. Some might say: “But this way my friends will know” or “Well, if it gets stolen, people know what to look for”. And that’s fine, take that picture…but do NOT post it on social media. Do not post it on Twitter, on the con group page, on your Tumblr, do not post it anywhere! Keep it in case your stuff gets stolen, and only then should you post it. Otherwise, when you post it…you become a walking target. That picture does not say: “I’m excited for this con!” it now says: “Here is my bag full of something that cost me hundreds of dollars! Here is what you look for!”

 

And there are several other tips as well…such as having people occasionally take inventory of your table if you’re a vendor at the con. Also, making sure your Fursuit is well hidden during a room party. Those kinds of things. Always have a 2nd person (usually a handler) make sure they know where you and your Fursuit are at all times! And try and do regular checks to make sure that your Fursuit is still where you left it (if you can). It seems like a lot of work, and it really is…but for something that people pay hundreds to thousands of dollars for, I would think it would be worth the effort. Especially since Fursuits do not come with insurance, and it’s not like makers can just make you a new one for free

So, just be careful this con-season and take the steps necessary to have fun but also to protect your Fursuit!

Thank you all so much for reading. I am sorry about the delay in blog posts but adult-life has taken over. I’m talking vacation, new furniture, buying a new vehicle…and those kinds of things. I have not even had time to make any YouTube videos which has really gotten me down. Anyways, thanks so much for tuning in! Lemme know if you have anymore suggestion for how to protect a Fursuit from getting stolen. Leave your suggestions in the comment section down below. And as always, I will see you all in the next blog 😉

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