Animal Rescue Wants Old Fasteners to Help Save Turtles

It’s common knowledge that turtles don’t wear bras, but that doesn’t mean they don’t have a use for them.

A wildlife center in North Carolina has placed a request out to animal lovers to donate their old undergarments, rather than discard them. It turns out, the clasps of the bras are what are used to help repair a turtle’s broken shell, as explained Thursday by the Carolina Waterfowl Rescue said on Facebook.

“It acts like a little fixator, it’s the
eyelets that we need,” Keenan Freitas, who works for the rescue, told WBTV.

As Freitas explains, most of the turtles that
come through the rescue center are ones who’ve been hit by cars. There are
others who have sustained their injuries when struck by boats or just natural
injuries.

In order to help hold together broken turtle
shells during recovery, the fasteners are used along with some wire, glue, and
tape. When it is time for the turtles to get released into the wild, rescuers
file down the glue a bit until the clasps pop off. After that, the turtles are
good to go.

It’s a simple way for the non-profit to
recycle old materials while keeping down costs and being able to help animals
in need.

“You can recycle something that would go
into a landfill. … They’re helping a turtle. Who wouldn’t want to help a
turtle?” Freitas told WBTV.

Since the request, the rescue has received many questions about its need for unmentionables. The organization has also stated that it has a dire need for earthworms for the turtles to eat. In addition to the clasps, the rescue can do with romaine lettuce, fish tank filters, basking lights, YVB lights, and Loctite epoxy.

So if you have a bunch of old bras sitting in
the back of your closet, consider donating them to turtles in need.